Data Indexer Subsquid Plans to Launch SQD Token Friday

Blockchain indexing service Subsquid's native token SQD is slated to launch this Friday with listings on multiple crypto exchanges, co-founder Marcel Fohrmann told CoinDesk.

The utility token is set to back Subsquid's network of independent node operators, whose collective computing power parses reams of on-chain data. In January Subsquid sold $6.3 million worth of tokens to the public through CoinList, per a press release.

That brings the project's lifetime fundraise to $17.5 million across multiple funding rounds featuring Blockchange, Hypersphere, Zee Prime, DFG, and Lattice, the release said.

Subsquid is one of a handful of teams indexing on-chain activity to make that data useful for blockchain developers. It started in the Polkadot sector but has since branched into the Ethereum world and recently rolled out a beta for Solana as well.

CEO Dmitry Zhelezov said Subsquid's clients include academic researchers and analysts. Most, however, are developers who use the tool to see what's happening on their smart contracts, the on-chain engines behind NFT exchanges and Perps DEXes.

In an interview with Coindesk, Fohrmann said Subquid knew early on that it needed a token in order to "incentivize people to run these nodes, to participate in this network" of data indexing. It took a few years for the project to get there, though.

The SQD token launch is "99% confirmed for Friday," Fohrmann added, but that date could get bumped to next week or the week after. Timing depends on "one big exchange" that has another token launch scheduled for Thursday, he said.