Amid the blockchain funding frenzy, Alchemy achieves a $10 billion valuation as a crypto start-up.

• Alchemy, a San Francisco-based company, secured another $200 million in funding led by Lightspeed and Silver Lake, just under four months after its previous funding round.
• Amid a surge of venture capital investment in crypto, investors are searching for promising opportunities in what some view as the future of the internet.
• The race for back-end and blockchain infrastructure has intensified, with Google and Coinbase joining the fray.

Alchemy, a crypto start-up, has nearly tripled its valuation in a matter of months, with the company saying Tuesday it's now valued at $10.2 billion after its latest funding round.

Lightspeed and Silver Lake led a $200 million investment in Alchemy, which was valued at $3.5 billion in its previous financing round in late October. Earlier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, and Pantera also participated.

The surge in venture capital funding for blockchain technology has led investors to search for promising projects in the development of Web 3, with blockchain funding increasing by 718% last year to reach a record $25.5 billion, as reported by CB Insights.

Alchemy co-founder and chief technology officer Joe Lau stated in an interview with CNBC that everyone is searching for ways to participate in the space, and they discovered that Alchemy is the foundation for all of these activities. He added that they believe this is just the beginning of Web 3.

The term "Web3" refers to any application constructed on blockchain technology, which powers cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Supporters view it as an improved, decentralized version of the internet. However, Web3 has also garnered criticism from notable figures such as Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey.

Alchemy is a platform used by developers to build applications on top of blockchains, such as Ethereum. It was used to create NBA Top Shot, Axie Infinity, and OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace. Adobe has announced that it will begin offering NFTs through a Photoshop feature and is working with Alchemy.

Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake, stated that the start-up plays a "foundational role in creating an entire industry." Some of its investors have compared it to Web Services, which serves as an intermediary between the internet and companies like Google and Facebook that use it to host their websites.

Still, competition for blockchain infrastructure has been heating up.

Google's cloud division has established a team to develop business opportunities related to blockchain applications. Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency company, is currently working on "Coinbase Cloud," which CEO Brian Armstrong described as the "AWS of crypto" during a recent earnings call. Additionally, blockchain infrastructure start-up Blockdaemon announced a $3.5 billion funding round in January.

Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, stated to CNBC that there have been many individuals attempting to solve a challenging technology issue over the years. He added that the company welcomes more individuals entering the market to help expand it.

Although venture capital investors are enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies, these companies have been negatively impacted in public markets recently. Bitcoin experienced a 20% drop in January, but still outperformed most other major cryptocurrencies. The shares of Coinbase and Square, previously known as Square, have declined significantly this year.

Despite appearing to be in a bear market, Viswanathan stated that the past few months had seen the “fastest growth” in company history, with Alchemy tripling the number of customers using its platform. He also pointed out an “exodus” from Big Tech as more talent is turning to the rapidly expanding space to build their careers.