Between giant crypto companies like Boston’s own Circle going public with a steep $9 billion valuation and emerging crypto risk management startup Gauntlet recently reaching the coveted $1 billion valuation — a lot is happening in the world of crypto startups. As the sector grows and more users engage with the space, resources are needed to explain how to maneuver through the sector.
Flipside Crypto, a Boston-based blockchain analytics platform aims to be a source of education for emerging analysts to learn, collaborate and solve data challenges. In return, they receive “bounty” payouts upon completion.
This week, Flipside raised $50 million in a Series A round from Republic Capital and others. Flipside will use this fresh capital to develop its platform and hire. According to a company statement, Flipside has a current employee headcount of 66 people and is aiming to grow to 85 people by the end of the year.
“I’ve known Dave [Balter, Flipside co-founder and CEO,] for years, and I’ve watched Flipside become crucial infrastructure for our biggest token portfolio positions. I believe we’re in the second phase of crypto adoption, where millions of early adopters are entering the ecosystem,” Boris Revsin, head of Republic Capital, said in a statement. “R/Capital believes Flipside is by far the most valuable network for educating and empowering this new generation of researchers, data scientists, programmers and enthusiasts.”
Flipside’s platform analyzes blockchain networks through what the company calls “chainwalking” in order to understand the impact of on- and off-chain activities on holders, miners, voters and token holders. This data is free for users to access. When users access the data and complete analytics challenges, Flipside dishes out compensation in the form of “bounties.”
Last year, the company reported it paid out $2 million in bounties. This year alone, Flipside has “produced 30,000 bounties in March and are on track to blow that out of the water in April,” Balter said in a statement.
