Allium raises $40 million as Wall Street demand for crypto data grows

Allium has raised $40 million in a Series B round to expand its blockchain data business, Fortune reported Tuesday. The financing points to continued investor demand for tools that make crypto data usable for large financial firms, even after a difficult stretch for parts of the digital asset market.

Amplify Partners led the round, according to Fortune. Kleiner Perkins and Theory Ventures also participated, while Allium cofounder and CEO Ethan Chan declined to disclose the company’s valuation.

New York-based Allium works on cleaning and organizing blockchain data, Fortune reported. Blockchains are public records, but their transaction histories can be difficult to interpret without specialized tools.

Institutional demand

Chan told Fortune that Allium’s data has been cited by institutional players including Visa and the U.S. Federal Reserve. He said interest from established financial firms has strengthened as Wall Street companies spend more time on blockchain-related products.

The funding comes during a mixed period for crypto data companies, according to Fortune. Bitcoin has lost more than half its value since October, and some analytics firms have faced pressure as the market cooled.

Fortune reported that Dune Analytics, valued at $1 billion in a 2022 fundraising round, laid off 25% of its staff in May. In June, Blockworks acquired Messari for more than $10 million, a price Fortune described as far below Messari’s roughly $300 million valuation in 2022.

Chan told Fortune he sees opportunity for companies that can endure the downturn, citing rising institutional involvement in crypto and growing use of artificial intelligence. Before starting Allium, Chan studied AI at Stanford University, where he focused on the importance of high-quality data for machine-learning models.

Chan and cofounder Cheng Han Lee started Allium during the 2021 crypto bull market, Fortune reported. The company now has 50 employees and provides cleaned blockchain data to firms including Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm and Coinbase.

Allium also supplies some data to DefiLlama, another blockchain analytics company, according to Fortune. That relationship shows how Allium’s role can extend beyond serving traditional finance clients into supporting other crypto data providers.

AI and payments

Chan told Fortune that AI could increase demand for Allium’s services if automated software agents begin conducting more financial transactions. Fortune reported that fintech companies including Stripe view blockchains and stablecoins as useful payment rails for AI agents.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies tied to assets such as the U.S. dollar, Fortune noted. Supporters argue they can help move value quickly across blockchain networks, a feature that could matter if AI systems begin paying one another directly.

David Beyer, a partner at Amplify Partners, told Fortune that the AI-agent opportunity is a major part of Allium’s potential. He said the “really, really big upside” for the company is tied to that agentic use case.

Allium’s new capital gives the startup more room to build at a time when the crypto analytics sector remains under pressure, Fortune reported. Its bet is that cleaner blockchain data will become more valuable as banks, payment companies and AI developers put more activity on digital asset networks.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.