{"id":95285,"date":"2026-03-17T11:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=95285"},"modified":"2026-03-17T11:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:40:17","slug":"messari-appoints-new-ceo-amid-staff-reductions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/messari-appoints-new-ceo-amid-staff-reductions\/","title":{"rendered":"Messari Appoints New CEO Amid Staff Reductions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The cryptocurrency analytics firm Messari has undergone a leadership change and initiated a new wave of layoffs. Eric Turner has stepped down as CEO.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, I stepped down as CEO of Messari and handed the reins to Diran. This wasn\u2019t an easy decision, but it\u2019s the right one for the company\u2019s next phase, and he has my full support.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a difficult day for the team as we say goodbye to many people who helped build Messari.\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nAVtjIzBeZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/nAVtjIzBeZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Turner (@eric_turner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eric_turner\/status\/2033641609879801978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Diran Li has been appointed as the new CEO, having previously served as the Chief Technology Officer for seven years.<\/p>\n<p>The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees laid off. According to the new CEO, these staffing decisions are part of a strategic shift as Messari aims to become an AI-focused company. The focus will now be on AI-based research and products for institutional clients.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today I\u2019m stepping into the CEO role at Messari. After conversations with Eric and the board, we agreed this is the right step for the company\u2019s next chapter.<\/p>\n<p>This transition also includes a difficult decision: we\u2019ve parted ways with many teammates who helped build Messari into\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Diran Li (@diran_li) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/diran_li\/status\/2033641098795729141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Turner had temporarily led the platform since July 2024 following the <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/ryan-selkis-steps-down-as-ceo-of-messari\">resignation<\/a> of founder Ryan Selkis. This is not the first instance of layoffs for Messari: in January 2025, the company <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/messari-trims-staff-by-15\">reduced<\/a> its workforce by about 15%. A similar move was <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/twobitidiot\/status\/1628739313214029824\">undertaken<\/a> in February 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The company has been moving towards artificial intelligence since 2024. On March 13, 2026, Li <a href=\"https:\/\/messari.io\/report\/x402-how-messari-is-opening-its-data-layer-to-autonomous-agents\">announced<\/a> the implementation of the x402 protocol. This solution allows developers and autonomous AI agents to directly purchase on-chain data and pay for it via cryptocurrency wallets.<\/p>\n<p>Messari continues the market trend of integrating blockchain with artificial intelligence. Previously, similar initiatives were undertaken by <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/core-scientific-secures-500-million-from-morgan-stanley-for-ai-transition\">Core Scientific<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/canaan-acquires-stake-in-texas-mining-centres-for-39-75-million\">Cipher Mining<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/mara-miner-reports-1-7-billion-loss-and-announces-shift-to-ai\">MARA Holdings<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/american-bitcoin-expands-fleet-with-11298-asic-miners\">Hut 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in January, the CEO of the Mantra project, John Patrick Mullin, <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/mantra-project-reduces-workforce-amid-unsustainable-costs\">announced<\/a> a restructuring that includes an unspecified number of staff reductions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cryptocurrency analytics firm Messari has undergone a leadership change and initiated a new wave of layoffs. Eric Turner has stepped down as CEO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Messari appoints new CEO, initiates layoffs amid strategic shift.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[438,1276,1468],"class_list":["post-95285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-layoffs","tag-messari"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"80","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Messari appoints new CEO, initiates layoffs amid strategic shift.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95287,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95285\/revisions\/95287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}