Dune acquires a16z-backed smlXL to expand real-time blockchain data offering

Blockchain analytics company Dune made a trifecta of announcements at its DuneCon event in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday morning, unveiling a new platform, the company's latest acquisition, and a new metric designed to track meaningful blockchain adoption. 

Dune Echo, launching today, is a new offering from the analytics firm that connects developers with real-time blockchain data across 30 chains, including Ethereum, many of its Layer 2 networks, and Solana, currently in beta. Data is available within 300ms of block propagation for token balances and transactions queries, which Dune calls the "fastest APIs in the industry." 

"Echo enables account and protocol data in real-time, simplifying the development process and enabling faster, more dynamic user experiences,” said Mats Olsen, co-founder and CTO of Dune, in a Monday statement.

Dune also announced its acquisition of a16z-backed smlXL, a blockchain firm with a popular product for simulating real-time blockchain transactions. The value of the acquisition was not disclosed in the announcement. 

"SmlXL has built a game-changing new way of getting flexible real-time data from the EVM. Together we will make it 10x easier for developers to build with onchain data," said Fredrik Haga, co-founder and CEO of Dune, in the statement.

Finally, Dune unveiled a new metric: the Dune Index, which aims to track meaningful blockchain adoption over time, broken down by chain and normalized to account for metrics that can be manipulated or inflated. According to Dune's website , the metric hit a weekly high of 86.75 on November 8, 2021. The metric currently stands at 55 as of Monday, reflecting reduced but still meaningful blockchain adoption. 

“The Dune Index provides a clean overarching view of onchain adoption. So any industry observer can understand how much traction blockchains have,” Haga said.