Blockchain infrastructure development startup Alchemy, which supports decentralized finance (DeFi) projects in running or accessing nodes, has just launched its full suite of products to the public after testing a closed beta for two years. serving leading teams including MakerDAO and Kyber Network.
One more service for startups
DeFi projects such as MakerDAO, 0x and others all use Alchemy's solutions to access the data of the Ethereum blockchain (find out how buy shares in our article), rather than running your own knots. Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan said that over 70% of leading Ethereum applications and over $ 2,8 billion of assets locked into DeFi rely on Alchemy for access to blockchain data.
“We've replaced all infrastructure providers for most of them,” Viswanathan said, referring to “hundreds” of Ethereum startups paying for Alchemy's software services. One such user, Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou, said in a press release that his startup relies on Alchemy for "infrastructure management," as well as "enterprise-grade tools and support," so that the team can focus solely on the shipping code.
It appears that most Ethereum startups use one of the three infrastructure providers, if not all three. For example, Infura, the rival service provider partially owned by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, offers a similar API service.
Bison Trails is the other major player in Ethereum's triple infrastructure. Developers pay startups like Infura and Alchemy for access to detached hardware (typically managed by Amazon or Google) and tools to easily use blockchain data. This makes it easier for startups to focus on serving retail users.
Behind the scenes
Viswanathan said his startup has facilitated about $ 7,5 billion in on-chain transactions over the past year, from exchanges to lending platforms. This may, in part, be due to the startup attracting well-connected investors like Coinbase Ventures, which has also invested in Bison Trails.
“As the de facto standard in blockchain, Alchemy is already at the foundation of the most sophisticated teams,” Pantera Capital investor Paul Veradittakit said in a press release. Even after a year of explosive growth, it's not hard to imagine that all the teams responsible for the DeFi ecosystem fit into a single university classroom.
In fact, both Alchemy cofounders graduated from Stanford University and attracted investment from their alma mater as well. By making some of these services free to the public, Viswanathan said he wants to diversify the DeFi ecosystem.
“Our mission is to make blockchain development accessible to all developers,” Viswanathan said, describing the new public beta. "Now anyone can sign up and use the same tools that power the biggest crypto companies."
