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Covalent
Unified multichain indexing and API platform supporting over 100 blockchains
4.1/ 5
Our score
Very good
Services
IndexingData APIsDeveloper tooling
Chains supported
100
Enterprise SLA
Yes
Token
CXT
What is Covalent?
Covalent is a decentralized onchain data infrastructure network that normalizes, indexes, and serves structured blockchain data across more than 100 networks through a single unified API. Originally conceived after winning the ETHWaterloo hackathon in 2017, the protocol has served more than 1 billion API calls to wallets, analytics platforms, and enterprise data teams.
Founders and institutional backing
Covalent was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with operational contributors across New York, Berlin, Dubai, and Bangalore. Chief executive officer Ganesh Swami previously worked as an IBM DB2 data scientist and was an early employee at biopharmaceutical firm Zymeworks, where he patented drug development algorithms. Chief technology officer Levi Aul formerly built distributed messaging systems in Erlang and served as CTO of an early Canadian Bitcoin exchange. The project is backed by venture firms including Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, 1kx, and Delphi Digital, and serves enterprise clients such as EY, Fidelity, OpenSea, and Chainalysis.
Data pipeline and architecture
Covalent structures raw blockchain data using a three-tier medallion architecture. The Bronze layer preserves byte-for-byte block data and traces from genesis while maintaining reorg safety. The Silver layer decodes application binary interfaces (ABIs) and calculates fiat-denominated prices for transfers and swaps. The Gold layer delivers normalized, deterministic data across more than 100 chains, including Ethereum, Solana, Base, BNB Chain, Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon. Developers query this surface via the GoldRush REST API, WebSocket streams, or direct enterprise data warehouse exports.
Network operations and security
Network verification relies on the native CXT utility and staking token, which migrated from the original CQT ticker. Data integrity is enforced through staking across network operators, including 13 Block Specimen Producers, 10 Block Result Producers, and Query nodes. Out of a total supply of 1 billion CXT, approximately 278.7 million tokens are staked across 23 operators. The system reports latency under 200 milliseconds and 99.99% operational uptime. Smart contracts and protocol infrastructure have undergone security audits conducted by Hacken, Quantstamp, and Sherlock.
Risks and operational trade-offs
Integrating third-party indexers introduces dependencies on node infrastructure uptime and external schema stability. While Covalent decentralizes data verification across operator nodes, querying through hosted endpoints relies on centralized routing pipelines. Data availability guarantees and query integrity depend on the economic security provided by the CXT operator staking model. Protocol terms of use are governed under the laws of British Columbia, Canada.
Founders
Ganesh SwamiCEO and Co-founder
Levi AulCo-founder
Best for:Multichain wallet developersOnchain analytics and tax platformsAutonomous AI agent buildersEnterprise data engineering teams
Pros and cons
Pros
- Standardized data schema across more than 100 supported blockchains
- Under 200ms API response latency with historical data from genesis
- Dual auditing history with evaluations from Quantstamp, Sherlock, and Hacken
- Native token CXT is over 89% circulating with 278M+ tokens staked
Cons
- Network security relies on a small set of 23 active operators
- Past native token migration required swapping CQT to CXT
- Hosted API endpoints introduce centralized external infrastructure dependencies
Our review
4.1/5
Very good
Covalent delivers unified, indexed data across more than 100 chains through a single API, though developers rely on its proprietary data pipeline and decentralized operator set for uptime.
Covalent addresses multichain fragmentation by standardizing raw transactions across disparate blockchain networks. Operating since 2018, the Vancouver-based company uses a three-tier pipeline (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) to ingest raw chain data, decode events, and expose normalized schemas. Through its GoldRush API, developers can query wallet balances, DEX activity, and historical state across 100+ chains including Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Arbitrum without maintaining custom node infrastructure or indexers.
The platform brings distinct strengths to crypto engineering teams:
- Unified schemas that normalize disparate logs, token standards, and pricing across EVM and non-EVM chains.
- High throughput with stated sub-second indexing and query latency under 200ms.
- Extensive enterprise adoption, serving clients such as Fidelity, EY, ConsenSys, and OpenSea.
Trade-offs center on operational centralization and network dependency. While Covalent is backed by its native staking token, CXT, which secures data validation via 23 registered network operators, developers relying on its unified endpoints face standard platform dependency risks. If downstream operator networks or Covalent's hosted GoldRush endpoints encounter disruptions, applications cannot easily swap to a raw RPC provider without altering their data transformation layers. In addition, projects requiring raw low-level RPC write access or custom validator RPC endpoints will need dedicated node providers alongside Covalent's indexing stack.
Backed by investors including Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs, Delphi Digital, and 1kx, Covalent is led by founders Ganesh Swami and Levi Aul. The smart contract infrastructure has been audited by Quantstamp, Sherlock, and Hacken. Covalent suits cross-chain wallet developers and tax platforms that need structured multi-ecosystem data out of the box, whereas teams executing latency-critical proprietary trading strategies directly against the mempool require dedicated low-latency RPC nodes instead.
Specs
| Services | Indexing, Data APIs, Developer tooling · unverified |
|---|---|
| Chains supported | 100 · unverified |
| Enterprise SLA | Yes · unverified |
| Open source | Yes · unverified |
| Token | CXT · unverified |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: Free tier, Pricing from, Free tier limits, Server regions.
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Key features
Unified GoldRush API
Queries historical and live balances, transactions, and decoded events across 100+ blockchains through a standardized schema.
Medallion indexing pipeline
Stores lossless raw blocks in Bronze, normalized and USD-priced events in Silver, and production-ready endpoints in Gold.
Sub-second indexing latency
Streams real-time blockchain state updates with latency under 200 milliseconds and target 99.99% uptime.
GoldRush CLI
Provides an interactive command-line terminal for inspecting onchain data directly from developer environments.
Cryptoeconomic verification
Secures data integrity using 278.7M staked CXT across 23 validator and producer nodes.
Data warehouse pipelines
Exports normalized multichain tables into cloud environments including Snowflake, Google BigQuery, and Amazon S3.
Inside Covalent
GoldRush API
A multichain unified REST and WebSocket API that delivers decoded transactions, balances, and historical chain state across 100+ networks.
GoldRush CLI
An interactive terminal utility that allows developers to test queries and inspect onchain blockchain data directly from the command line.
CXT Staking & Network Operations
A coordination dashboard where token holders and network operators stake CXT across block specimen and block result producers to verify data integrity.
Covalent screenshots
What users say about Covalent
Independent user feedback remains scarce. Aside from developer product announcements and isolated moderation disputes, public community discussions provide little substantive commentary on the project.
Based on 38 Reddit posts and comments from the last 12 months, checked Oct 20, 2026. These are posts by users on other sites, not reviews submitted on CryptoReview.
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Have you used Covalent? Share your experience below.
Funding and investors
1Round
4Investors
-
Funding round Amount undisclosedSource
1kxVenture capital
Coinbase VenturesExchange ventures arm
DD Delphi DigitalVenture capital
YL YZi LabsVenture capital
FAQ
Who founded Covalent?
Covalent was co-founded in 2018 by Ganesh Swami and Levi Aul following their win at the ETHWaterloo 2017 hackathon. Ganesh Swami serves as CEO, while Levi Aul serves as CTO.
What chains does Covalent support?
Covalent supports over 100 blockchains through a unified schema. These include Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Optimism, Solana, Arbitrum, Base, and Avalanche.
Does Covalent have a native token?
Yes, Covalent uses the native utility and governance token CXT, which was migrated from its original CQT token. CXT is staked by network operators to provide cryptoeconomic security for verified data.
Who has audited Covalent?
Covalent's smart contracts and protocols have been audited by Quantstamp, Sherlock, and Hacken.
What is Covalent's GoldRush API?
GoldRush API is Covalent's multichain data interface that provides normalized, decoded, and real-time blockchain data across supported networks. It powers decentralized applications and wallets.
Latest from Covalent on X
66% of the dollars traded in Hyperliquid’s Apple perp on Oct 28 were sells.
Every other day this month was more balanced.
Every other day this month was more balanced.
Before the earnings print, tokenized Coinbase holders moved 42% less and held 6% more. That’s how a stock gets positioned onchain.
One wallet. One second. $1M of longs closed.
Every fill carries who, which way, and opened or closed. One subscription covers every Hyperliquid market.
Every fill carries who, which way, and opened or closed. One subscription covers every Hyperliquid market.
GoldRush is now a Claude connector.
Connect Claude to onchain data across 100+ chains, with 37 tools for blockchain data and protocol analytics.
No setup headaches. Just connect and query.
Try it: https://t.co/rE53RYHwxK
Docs: https://t.co/OcI5LxQVeq
Connect Claude to onchain data across 100+ chains, with 37 tools for blockchain data and protocol analytics.
No setup headaches. Just connect and query.
Try it: https://t.co/rE53RYHwxK
Docs: https://t.co/OcI5LxQVeq
Recent public posts from @covalent_hq, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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