S&P Global Backs Crypto Data Firm Kaiko as 24/7 Markets Loom

A group of large financial firms including DRW Holdings LLC, Susquehanna and Royal Bank of Canada invested in digital-asset data provider Kaiko, as progress toward round-the-clock trading on blockchain rails sparks demand for new kinds of infrastructure.

S&P Global led the investment, which extends Kaiko’s latest round to $110 million, the company said in a statement on Monday. Nasdaq, BNP Paribas, Bpifrance, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., Canton Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and Stellar also invested, Kaiko said.

The Paris-headquartered firm — one of the crypto sector’s best known market data providers — will use the funding to develop new products and services, Chief Executive Officer Ambre Soubiran said in an interview. She declined to disclose the firm’s valuation.

The investment comes as Wall Street accelerates its push to issue and transfer a wide range of assets — from stocks and bonds to funds — using blockchain technology, a process known as tokenization. That in turn creates fresh impetus for data providers that can price, value and manage those assets on a 24/7 basis.

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In traditional markets, built around trading days with a defined opening and closing bell, data feeds typically wind down when the trading day closes. Closing prices form a reference point for valuing positions. As crypto markets have been operating round-the-clock since their inception, companies such as Kaiko already collect and process pricing data continuously.

“Always-on markets need always-on infrastructure,” said Kim Trautmann, head of DRW Venture Capital. “As more assets and use cases move on-chain, pricing, collateral and risk management all have to work in real time. The data layer that connects those pieces onchain will become increasingly important to how markets operate.”

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Alongside their investment, Kaiko’s new backers are joining an industry group that plans to shape the data and infrastructure needed to bring new tokenized offerings into production, the company said.

“Tokenization is becoming a reality, but if you want to embed tokenized assets into actual use cases you need the data,” Soubiran said.

Founded in 2014, Kaiko offers crypto market analytics and indices used by financial institutions and digital-asset firms. Earlier this month, it partnered with S&P Dow Jones Indices, combining their crypto index products to form the S&P Kaiko Digital Asset Indices brand.

Kaiko, which has about 120 employees globally, recently acquired US digital-asset data firm Amberdata and crypto infrastructure provider Cometh.