The Block, a leading provider of crypto-native news, research, and data, has appointed veteran media and technology executive Steve Chung as its new Chief Executive Officer. Chung succeeds Larry Cermak, who will remain as President, overseeing research, data, and product. The announcement was made on April 27, 2026, marking a strategic shift for the company as it aims to accelerate its institutional expansion.
Chung brings a diverse background spanning Wall Street, global media, and Web3. He began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York and later served as the inaugural Chief Growth Officer at Fox Corporation, Chief Digital Officer at Fox TV Stations, and CEO of CJ ENM America. Most recently, he was Chief Operating Officer at Azuki, a leading NFT company. This mix of capital markets, media distribution, and crypto culture aligns with The Block's new focus on serving institutional audiences.
Alongside the leadership change, The Block's majority owner, Foresight Ventures, committed an additional $10 million in growth capital to support the company's next phase. This follows Foresight's prior acquisition of roughly 80% of The Block in a $60 million deal in 2023. The fresh investment is explicitly aimed at scaling institutional research and data offerings, expanding enterprise business, and deepening The Block's role as a critical information provider within the digital asset ecosystem.
Chung stated, “The next generation of market leaders in information services will be defined by trust, proprietary data, and direct relationships with institutional audiences. The Block has built a strong foundation across all three. The focus now is to scale that into a globally relevant platform for investors and decision-makers in digital assets, while applying AI to enhance the depth, speed, and utility of our insights.”
Larry Cermak added, “Steve is the right operator to take The Block from category leader to global market leader. His experience across finance, media, and crypto positions him to scale the business with the rigor and focus required to serve institutional audiences at a global level.”
Zac Tsui, a spokesperson for Foresight Ventures, commented, “When we invested in The Block, our conviction was that digital assets would require a trusted, global institution of record. The Block has established that foundation. After an extensive global search, we are confident Steve is the right leader to bring the operating rigor and cross-market perspective to scale The Block into a category-defining, global platform for institutional participants.”
The move signals a sharp pivot from surviving crypto winters and ownership scandals to competing head-on with Bloomberg-style data and research platforms for hedge funds, banks, and asset managers. Cermak's continued control of research is seen as a partial safeguard for editorial independence, but the deeper question remains about how a crypto-native newsroom evolves when it becomes a line item on a venture portfolio explicitly geared toward institutional monetization.
