Blockchain data is the next big thing in Web3, according to this expert
Blockchain data could be the next big thing in Web3
Permission-free access to data is one of blockchain’s most prominent promises; the idea that anyone anywhere can access and use data in any way they want without requiring a centralized entity to say so. It can access real-time transaction information to make investment decisions based on the movements of the whale (the crypto industry’s term for large investors). In theory, all that is needed to connect to the blockchain protocol of interest is to set up a node – essentially a computer running the blockchain’s software.
To understand how disruptive permissionless access to data is, consider how accessing the real-time transaction flow of the largest equity investors would work. In the US, for example, a stock exchange such as Nasdaq will have to give you (or a third-party data provider) access to such data. The exchange has the right to decide who gets access and who doesn’t – and at what price.
With blockchain, no one gets to make that call. The barrier to entry here is limited to the costs (both monetary and non-monetary) of setting up a node.
However, running nodes is not the most efficient way for most companies to access and use blockchain data – especially for legacy companies looking to enter the Web3 space, said Tom Tirman, co-founder and CEO of Parsiq.
Parsiq is a blockchain data infrastructure startup.
“Consider a traditional investment data provider that wants to start offering crypto data,” Tirman said. “Their preference would be to have access to structured data that can be processed and presented to users without adding the extra operational and technical layer of running their own nodes.”
The additional operational and technical layer that Tirman referred to is multiplied if the service provider intends to deliver data from more than one blockchain network. This is where blockchain data providers come in.
“I think with where we are right now in the adoption curve, blockchain data is the next big thing,” he added. “As applications are built, as Web2 companies slowly start to adopt blockchain, everyone needs a place to build their backend — a way to get their data.”
Parsiq, which launched in 2018 by offering real-time blockchain monitoring, recently launched its flagship product called “Tsunami API.” The product provides historical access to data across a few blockchain protocols, including Ether
“In addition to real-time monitoring, the Tsunami API provides an indexed history of all these blockchains from the very first block, the genesis block,” Tirman said. “And now, in milliseconds and with a simple query, any team building on the blockchain can go back in time and collect any data they want, whether they want statistics, account balances, history of an NFT ownership – basically anything they want .”
Parsiq is not the only company supplier of chain data.
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Parsiq, on the other hand, operates similarly to a legacy software-as-a-service company. The company performs the query, indexing and storage itself.
A few of Parsiq’s other direct competitors include Alchemy, Covalent, and Moralis.
Unlike many competitors, Tirman says Parsiq offers the ability to implement real-time triggers that follow the “if this, then that” conditional programming statement.
“We’ve been compared to Zapier regarding how we automate processes between Web2 and Web3 environments,” he said. “You can ask Zapier to upload attachments to Dropbox and notify you in Slack every time an email comes in.
“So think of it as a similar situation; if something happens on the blockchain – whether funds come in, funds go out, the smart contract is called, etc. – take this action. So you can set up triggers like “collect this data sent to my accounting system.” ‘Notify my KYC department that a transaction over $10,000 has come in.’
Legacy businesses are not the only group that can benefit from the lower operational and technical barriers that easy and scalable access to blockchain data offers. Regulators can now perform real-time monitoring without having to set up nodes across multiple blockchain networks.
Tirman mentioned that the police department in an Asian country has been testing the service for investigative purposes.
For all their advantages, Parsiq and other blockchain data-as-a-service providers are not yet the complete package. In theory, the complete provider should be able to offer data access across all blockchain protocols – at least the most widely used ones. For example, Parsiq currently only indexes four blockchains. It can be a limitation for companies that want access to several networks.
In comparison, The Graph protocol indexes over 20 blockchain networks.
While Tirman acknowledges the need to support multiple blockchain networks, he says it’s a tough business decision.
“It’s so hard to place our bets; it’s like three dozen [blockchain protocols], and there will probably be seven dozen by the end of the year,” he said. “Which ones should we focus our energy on or not? Who wants to go down and die? Which ones really want adoption? [Answering these questions] is quite a challenge.”
