A Coinbase-backed start-up quietly powering the NFT boom raises new funding

A Coinbase-backed start-up quietly powering the NFT boom raises new funding

That building platform has been used to create Dapper Labs, which made CryptoKitties, popular platform NBA Top Shot, the largest NFT marketplace OpenSea and others. The record-breaking $69 million nonfungible token sold by digital artist Beeple, for example, was powered by Alchemy.

Alchemy is benefitting from the recent boom in digital collectibles through the companies it helps power. It's not a blockchain. Alchemy is more of a middleman, sitting between blockchain infrastructure and apps like NBA TopShot that consumers interact with.

The San Francisco-based company announced an $80 million series B funding round on Wednesday, led by Coatue and Addition. The new cash injection brings Alchemy's valuation to roughly $500 million. Also participating in the round were the Glazer family, who own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; the band The Chainsmokers; and DFJ Growth -- an investor in Stripe, SpaceX and Coinbase. 

Alchemy, a start-up subtly powering the recent NFT boom, is raising another round of capital as it tries to keep up with the fast-growing industry.

The start-up was founded by Stanford classmates Nikil Viswanathan and Joe Lau four years ago at the height of the last crypto boom. By the end of that year, bitcoin's price had shot up to nearly $20,000. But it dropped