Blockdaemon Inc., a distributed ledger blockchain infrastructure node management startup, today announced it raised $5.5 million in a strategic funding round.

As more companies begin to explore blockchain technology for asset orchestration, supply chain management and other use cases developers and businesses need access to their own customizable infrastructure.

Blockdaemon provides a node management platform that allows companies to run their own nodes to provide the security of a blockchain network alongside auto-scaling capability and enhanced monitoring. Developers who sign on receive access to back-end systems, high-availability clusters, application programming interfaces and cloud-managed node monitoring for on-premises solutions.

Developers looking for access to public, permission-based and staking networks will also have access to more than 30 protocols through the Blockdaemon Marketplace, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Stellar.

“Handling node management and operations can be complicated, expensive, and can slow a project’s velocity,” said Konstantin Richter, founder and chief executive of Blockdaemon. “The market demands a simplified way to handle node operation with strong enterprise security and easy transaction monitoring. With Blockdaemon, we help companies and developers connect to blockchain networks in minutes with high-availability nodes on-premises or in a cloud they choose.”

This funding round will be joined by a number of new investors, including Hashkey, CoinShares, Blockchain.com, Kenetic, Spice VC and Fenbushi Capital. Early investors Comcast Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Boldstart and Heavybit will also continue their participation in this round.

“At CoinShares, we believe compute and connectivity will define the next decade of economic growth, and that blockchain networks and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are novel mechanisms for pricing network throughput,” said Meltem Demirors, an investor and adviser at CoinShares. “Blockdaemon is pioneering a new category of networking services that will be vital to providing the ability for governments, companies, and consumers to interact and transact securely on these networks.”

Blockdaemon now claims more than 250 institutional customers. It’s used by networks, exchanges, enterprises, custodians, developers and funds, including Trust Wallet, Coinfund, the Algorand Foundation, Wharton School of Business, Ledger, Blockchange Ventures, Slow Ventures and BTC Markets.

In order to serve clients in Europe better, the company will be using these funds to open an office in Germany and enter into a partnership with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. Blockdaemon is also expanding its operations in Asia-Pacific markets with its investors Hashkey, Fenbushi Capital and Kenetic.

In the near future, Blockdaemon also intends to broaden its infrastructure offerings to include financial reporting and more APIs to cover more industry blockchain use cases. Additionally, the company intends to contribute directly to the stability, resiliency and accessibility of payment-centric networks including Transparent Systems, Celo, MobileCoin and the Lightning Network alongside support for projects such as the next-generation Ethereum ETH2.0 blockchain.

Images: Pixabay, Blockdaemon