a16z Invests $250M in Alchemy, Alameda Backs Voyager with $75M

Alchemy launched publicly about a year ago and has increased its revenue 15 times over the last six months, in addition to powering more than $45 billion in transactions for users internationally, it said.

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Alchemy powers companies like PwC and Adobe all the way to businesses developing in Web3 like Dapper Labs, Aave, OpenSea, and Axie Infinity
  • Alameda Research’s strategic investment will be used to create a partnership and focus on crypto and asset management initiatives

Andressen Horowitz, or a16z, led a $250 million raise for blockchain and Web3 platform developer Alchemy in its latest Series C round, bringing its valuation to $3.5 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday. 

Lightspeed and Redpoint are joining as investors, with participation from previous investors Coatue, Addition, DFJ and Pantera Capital. The funding will be used to help the platform build out additional benefits from blockchain, decentralization and Web3 for its developers. 

“Alchemy is doing for blockchain and Web3 what AWS did for the internet,” the company said in reference to Amazon Web Services, which provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs. It launched publicly about a year ago and has increased its revenue 15 times over the last six months, in addition to powering more than $45 billion in transactions for users internationally, it said.

Alchemy powers companies like PwC and Adobe all the way to businesses developing in Web3 like Dapper Labs, Aave, OpenSea, and Axie Infinity.

“We’re excited to continue investing in making blockchain accessible to developers globally,” Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO of Alchemy said in a statement. “Empowering developers is the key to bringing the magic of blockchain to the world,” Viswanathan added.

Alameda Research invests $75M in Voyager Digital 

The publicly traded cryptocurrency platform Voyager Digital announced a $75 million investment from Alameda Research on Thursday. 

The strategic investment will create a partnership between the two companies to focus on executive, asset management and broader crypto initiatives, the companies said in a statement. 

Alameda Research trades over $5 billion daily across thousands of products including major cryptocurrencies and altcoins as well as derivatives, it said. Voyager Digital provides a platform for more than 2 million users to trade over 60 crypto assets as well as the ability to earn rewards up to 12% annually on about 30 cryptocurrencies. 

“While the immediate opportunity is on the order flow and asset management front, we are tremendously excited about potential future synergistic opportunities in the continuously evolving crypto industry,” Steve Ehrlich, CEO and co-founder of Voyager said. “These opportunities include NFTs and crypto derivatives through Alameda, as well as the creation of thought leadership as we work with lawmakers on shaping regulation,” Ehrlich added. 

Also this week, Voyager partnered with Dallas Mavericks in a five-year agreement to make cryptocurrency more accessible through educational and community programs and fan engagement promotions, Blockworks previously reported

In the beginning of October, Voyager’s preliminary revenue fell about 40% from the previous quarter, according to a report. The crypto company declined to comment further when requested by Blockworks, but referenced the statement in the press release that “Voyager’s transactional volume is contingent on market volume and the overall market volume decreased substantially in July and August.”

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

A greater focus on data availability sampling is top of mind, including additional work that layer-2s must do to become faster and more secure

article-image

The former FTX CEO was sentenced in a New York courtroom on Thursday

article-image

👨‍⚖️ SBF’s courtroom sequel: Plus, Coinbase’s legal loss was DeFi’s gain

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset