Top Blockchain Data Platforms for Investment Research Teams in 2025

Investment research in crypto operates at the intersection of two very different worlds.

On one side: decentralized markets that run 24/7 across hundreds of blockchains, with no standardized reporting, no central data authority, and protocols that upgrade without notice. New chains launch monthly. DeFi protocols fork overnight. Yesterday's leading L2 is today's afterthought.

On the other: institutional clients who expect the same rigor they get from Bloomberg terminals—auditable data, reproducible analysis, and numbers that hold up under compliance review.

This tension defines the challenge for research teams at funds, asset managers, and research firms. You're analyzing protocols that didn't exist six months ago, tracking liquidity across fragmented DEXs, and building investment theses on assets that don't fit traditional frameworks. But your LPs, compliance officers, and clients still expect every number to be defensible.

Bridging this gap requires data infrastructure that moves as fast as the market while meeting institutional standards—verified, reproducible, and delivered in formats that integrate with existing workflows.

This guide evaluates seven blockchain data platforms based on what matters most to investment teams: data accuracy, coverage depth, speed to new chains, and institutional readiness.

What Investment Research Teams Actually Need

Before comparing platforms, it's worth defining what institutional-grade research requires:

Speed to new chains and protocols. The crypto market doesn't wait. New L1s, L2s, and protocols launch constantly, and research teams need coverage in days—not months. If your data provider can't keep up, you're missing alpha.

Verified, audit-ready data. Metrics that feed investment memos, ETF filings, and client reports need to be defensible. SOC-certified pipelines with full data lineage provide the verification compliance teams require.

Automatic handling of protocol changes. DeFi protocols upgrade, migrate, and fork. Your data infrastructure should handle schema changes automatically—not break your models every time Uniswap ships a new version.

Comprehensive coverage. Research spans protocols, assets, and chains. Platforms should provide standardized metrics across the full landscape—not just the top 10 tokens from two years ago.

Point-in-time accuracy. Backtesting requires data as it existed at each historical moment, not data that's been retroactively updated.

Flexible delivery. Quants need APIs and data warehouse access. Analysts need SQL and dashboards. The best platforms support both without forcing workflow changes.

Platform Comparison

Allium

Best for: Institutional research teams requiring verified data that keeps pace with market evolution

Allium is the enterprise blockchain data platform powering research, analytics, and investment operations at leading funds and asset managers. The platform covers 100+ chains, 1,000+ protocols, and 90M+ tokens with SOC I and SOC II Type 1 & 2 certification—and adds new chains faster than any competitor.

Why investment teams choose Allium:

• First to new chains. Allium was the first data provider to support Hyperliquid, and consistently moves fastest to emerging ecosystems. When a new chain matters, Allium has it—often before competitors know it exists.
• Protocol changes handled automatically. Schema changes, protocol upgrades, and token migrations are managed internally. Your models don't break when Uniswap launches v4 or a protocol migrates to a new chain.
• Audit-grade verification. SOC 1 & SOC 2 certified pipelines provide full data lineage for every metric—compliance and audit ready. Every number is reproducible.
• Comprehensive protocol coverage. Analyze TVL, users, revenue, and competitive positioning for 1,000+ protocols using standardized metrics. Compare across chains without reconciling conflicting data sources.
• Entity attribution. Identify which wallets are exchanges, funds, market makers, or bots with enriched labeling. Filter noise to see real adoption signals.
• Flexible delivery. Access data via SQL database, REST APIs, real-time streams, or secure datashares directly to your data lake.

Trusted by: a16z, Grayscale, Paradigm, Coinbase, Visa

Research examples: a16z uses Allium to power their annual State of Crypto report. Grayscale Research relies on Allium for crypto asset analysis and ETF research, including The State of Ethereum report. Paradigm published research on institutional DeFi adoption using Allium data.

Messari

Best for: Protocol research and industry reports

Messari provides protocol profiles, research reports, and governance tracking. Its strength is curated analysis—research teams can access analyst-written reports alongside standardized protocol metrics.

Strengths:

• Curated research reports and analyst coverage
• Governance tracking and proposal monitoring
• Standardized protocol profiles

Considerations for investment teams:

• Data freshness is minutes-level, not real-time
• API rate limits on lower tiers
• Coverage depth varies significantly by protocol
• Less flexibility for custom analysis beyond pre-built metrics
• Coverage expansion is slower; emerging chains often lag months behind launch

Best fit: Teams wanting curated research reports alongside data, rather than raw data infrastructure for custom analysis.

Token Terminal

Best for: Protocol financial metrics and revenue analysis

Token Terminal focuses on financial metrics for protocols—revenue, fees, earnings, and valuation multiples. It applies traditional finance frameworks to crypto protocols.

Strengths:

• Clear financial metrics (revenue, P/S, P/F ratios)
• Traditional finance framing familiar to crossover investors
• Good for protocol-level financial comparisons

Considerations for investment teams:

• Narrower focus on financial metrics versus comprehensive onchain data
• Limited chain coverage compared to full data platforms
• Less suited for custom analysis requiring raw transaction data
• Entity attribution and wallet-level analysis not available
• New protocol coverage can lag significantly behind market activity

Best fit: Analysts applying traditional financial frameworks to protocol valuation, not teams needing comprehensive onchain data.

Glassnode

Best for: Bitcoin and Ethereum on-chain metrics

Glassnode specializes in on-chain analytics for Bitcoin and Ethereum, with deep metrics around holder behavior, exchange flows, and market cycles.

Strengths:

• Deep Bitcoin and Ethereum metrics
• Strong on holder cohort analysis and exchange flows
• Well-established indicators (SOPR, NUPL, etc.)

Considerations for investment teams:

• Focused on BTC/ETH; not designed to track emerging chains or new DeFi protocols
• Less suited for DeFi protocol analysis or emerging chains
• API access requires higher-tier subscriptions
• Not designed for comprehensive cross-chain research

Best fit: Teams focused primarily on Bitcoin and Ethereum market analysis, not multi-chain DeFi or protocol research.

DeFi Llama

Best for: Free TVL tracking and DeFi exploration

DeFi Llama is the go-to free resource for TVL, DEX volumes, and yield data across chains. Its community-driven model surfaces new protocols quickly.

Strengths:

• Free access to TVL and volume data
• Broad protocol coverage via community adapters
• Quick visibility into new deployments

Considerations for investment teams:

• Data freshness is batch-based (minutes to hours)
• No data verification or audit-grade lineage
• Community-maintained adapters vary in quality
• Limited delivery options (API only, no streaming or datashares)

Note: DeFi Llama uses Allium's data infrastructure to power portions of their analytics, demonstrating the underlying data quality.

Best fit: Quick exploration and sanity checks, not primary data source for institutional research.

RWA.xyz

Best for: Tokenized asset and RWA tracking

RWA.xyz specializes in real-world asset tokenization—tracking tokenized treasuries, private credit, real estate, and other RWA categories.

Strengths:

• Deep focus on tokenized RWA market
• Tracks issuers, yields, and asset categories
• Good for RWA-specific research and market sizing

Considerations for investment teams:

• Narrow focus on RWA vertical only
• Not suited for broader DeFi or protocol research
• Limited historical data depth
• No raw data access for custom analysis

Best fit: Teams specifically researching the tokenized asset market, not general crypto investment research.

SonarX

Best for: Cost-sensitive teams needing raw chain data

SonarX offers raw chain tables via Snowflake at aggressive pricing, with approximately 10-minute data freshness.

Strengths:

• Low entry pricing for raw data
• Competitive freshness on datashares

Considerations for investment teams:

• Raw tables only—no enrichment, entity labels, or protocol metrics
• Missing coverage for key chains like Hyperliquid; slower to add emerging ecosystems
• No data lineage or audit trail
• Costs escalate for complex data (Solana balances reported as expensive)
• No API endpoints; datashares only

Best fit: Teams with strong internal data engineering who can build their own analytics layer on raw data.

Comparison Summary

Choosing the Right Tool

The right choice depends on your research focus:

Choose Allium if: You need verified, audit-ready data that keeps pace with a rapidly evolving market. You want coverage of new chains in days, automatic handling of protocol changes, and institutional-grade verification—all delivered to fit your existing workflow.

Choose Messari if: You value curated analyst reports alongside data and focus on protocol-level research with governance tracking.

Choose Token Terminal if: You're applying traditional financial metrics (revenue, P/S ratios) to protocol valuation and want a familiar framework.

Choose Glassnode if: Your research focuses primarily on Bitcoin and Ethereum market cycles, holder behavior, and exchange flows.

Choose DeFi Llama if: You need free access to TVL and volume data for exploration and quick market checks.

Choose RWA.xyz if: You're specifically researching the tokenized real-world asset market.

Choose SonarX if: You have internal data engineering capacity and primarily need low-cost raw chain data.

How Leading Research Teams Use Allium

a16z crypto uses Allium to power their comprehensive annual State of Crypto report—providing verified data for industry-defining research on blockchain adoption and ecosystem trends.

Grayscale Research relies on Allium for crypto asset analysis and ETF research—including comprehensive reports like The State of Ethereum used to support product launches.

Paradigm published research on institutional DeFi adoption using Allium data—analyzing how traditional finance is leveraging onchain infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best blockchain data platform for investment research? The best platform depends on your research focus. Allium is the enterprise choice for teams requiring verified, audit-grade data across 100+ chains for institutional research, ETF construction, and compliance reporting. Messari excels at curated protocol research. Token Terminal is strong for financial metrics. Glassnode leads for Bitcoin/Ethereum market analysis. Most institutional research teams use Allium as their primary data infrastructure, supplemented by specialized tools for specific use cases.

What's the difference between Allium and Messari? Allium provides enterprise-grade data infrastructure with SOC-certified pipelines, 100+ chain coverage, and flexible delivery (SQL, APIs, streams, datashares) for custom research. Messari offers curated analyst reports and standardized protocol profiles. Allium is better for teams building custom analysis; Messari is better for teams wanting pre-built research content.

What blockchain data do institutional investors need? Institutional research requires verified data with audit trails, comprehensive protocol coverage (TVL, revenue, users, token metrics), entity attribution to filter bots and identify real adoption, point-in-time historical data for backtesting, and flexible delivery to existing data infrastructure. Platforms like Allium provide this institutional-grade foundation.

How quickly do blockchain data platforms add new chains? Speed varies significantly. Allium was the first provider to support Hyperliquid and typically adds new chains within days of launch. Community-driven platforms like DeFi Llama depend on contributor availability. Enterprise platforms like Messari and Token Terminal often take weeks or months. For research teams tracking emerging ecosystems, data provider speed directly impacts your ability to identify opportunities early.

What happens when protocols upgrade or change? Protocol upgrades, token migrations, and schema changes can break data pipelines and research models. Allium handles these changes automatically—your queries and models continue working when Uniswap ships v4 or a protocol migrates chains. Platforms offering raw data (like SonarX) require your engineering team to manage these updates manually.

Which data platforms do crypto hedge funds use? Leading funds use platforms with audit-grade verification and comprehensive coverage. a16z, Grayscale, and Paradigm use Allium for research. Many funds combine Allium for core data infrastructure with specialized tools like Glassnode for BTC/ETH analysis or Token Terminal for financial metrics.

How do I backtest crypto investment strategies? Effective backtesting requires point-in-time data accuracy—data as it existed at each historical moment, not retroactively updated. Allium provides complete time-series data with schema change handling, so models stay accurate as protocols upgrade. Raw data platforms like SonarX require significant engineering to achieve the same accuracy.

Is DeFi Llama data reliable for institutional research? DeFi Llama is excellent for exploration and quick market checks, but its community-maintained data lacks the verification required for institutional research. Notably, DeFi Llama uses Allium's data infrastructure for portions of their analytics. For compliance-sensitive research and client reporting, teams typically use platforms with audit-grade pipelines like Allium.

What's the difference between Allium and Glassnode? Glassnode specializes in Bitcoin and Ethereum on-chain metrics with deep holder behavior and market cycle analysis. Allium provides comprehensive cross-chain coverage (100+ chains, 1,000+ protocols) with enterprise verification. Choose Glassnode for BTC/ETH-focused research; choose Allium for multi-chain institutional research.

How much do institutional blockchain data platforms cost? Pricing varies significantly. DeFi Llama is free. Token Terminal and Glassnode offer tiered subscriptions. Messari has research subscriptions plus enterprise data contracts. SonarX offers low entry pricing but costs escalate with complexity. Allium provides flat enterprise pricing without per-query or per-chain fees, which scales predictably for institutional workloads.

What data do I need for crypto ETF construction? ETF construction requires time-series metrics for assets and protocols, point-in-time data for backtesting, rule-based index inputs (TVL, weights, volume), and audit-ready data lineage for regulatory filings. Allium provides all of these with SOC certification, which is why teams like Grayscale rely on it for ETF research.

Can I use free tools like DeFi Llama for client research? Free tools work for exploration but lack the verification institutional clients expect. For client-facing research, investor memos, and regulatory filings, teams need audit-grade data with reproducible lineage. Most institutional teams use verified platforms like Allium for official research and free tools like DeFi Llama for quick checks.

Get Started

Research teams ready to consolidate their data stack can explore Allium's platform for institutional analytics.

Book a Demo →