Subsquid (SQD) is a decentralized blockchain data infrastructure project designed to address the issue of high blockchain data transparency coupled with practical accessibility challenges. Through its modular, decentralized network architecture, it enables developers to access and utilize multi-chain data efficiently and flexibly.

Core Highlights:

* Decentralized Architecture: The SQD network supports over 200 blockchains, with data distributed across numerous global nodes, ensuring high availability and censorship resistance, thereby avoiding the single point of failure risk inherent in traditional centralized services.

* Modular Design: It separates data extraction from processing. Developers can use the SQD SDK to freely choose data transformation, storage, and query methods (e.g., PostgreSQL, BigQuery), offering high flexibility.

* Tokenomics: The native token $SQD incentivizes network participants (worker nodes, gateway operators, and delegators), ensuring network security and sustainable operation.

* Technological Evolution: Actively developing SQD Portal (supporting parallel processing and real-time data streams) and Light Squid (enabling localized data indexing) to enhance data processing speed and user experience.

Application Scenarios:

* DApp Developers: Projects like PancakeSwap manage multi-chain data uniformly, reducing development and maintenance costs.

* Data Analysts: Supports custom data processing, complementing existing tools (like Dune) and expanding analytical dimensions.

* AI & Institutions: Through the acquisition of Rezolve AI, it integrates data and payment functionalities, providing infrastructure for the AI agent economy; launched OceanStream to meet institutional demand for real-time, verifiable on-chain data.

Vision: Emulating Snowflake's "one platform, multiple workloads" model, Subsquid aims to become the data backbone of Web3, connecting on-chain and off-chain data to support dApp development, institutional finance, and AI ecosystem growth.

Summary / Expand

This report by Tiger Research analyzes Subsquid's decentralized data infrastructure, designed to bridge the gap between blockchain data transparency and accessibility.

Key Summary Points

Subsquid (hereafter SQD) simplifies blockchain data access via decentralized infrastructure. It supports over 200 blockchains and distributes data across multiple nodes.

The SQD network employs a modular structure, allowing developers to freely configure data processing and storage methods. This enables users to efficiently utilize data in a multi-chain environment through a unified structure.

Subsquid aims to be the data pillar of Web3, similar to the standard set by Snowflake with "one platform, multiple workloads." Through its recent acquisition of Rezolve AI, it is expanding into AI and payments. SQD is poised to become core infrastructure connecting Web3 and the agent economy.

1. Is Blockchain Data Truly Open to Everyone?

One of the defining characteristics of blockchain technology is that all its data is open to everyone. Traditional industries store data in closed databases inaccessible from the outside. Blockchain operates differently. All records are published transparently on-chain.

However, data transparency does not guarantee ease of use. Data transparency does not ensure accessibility. Blockchains are optimized to securely execute transactions and achieve network consensus. They are not designed as infrastructure for data analysis. The capabilities for verifying and storing data have advanced, but the infrastructure for efficiently querying and utilizing that data remains insufficient. The methods for querying on-chain data have not significantly changed from a decade ago to today.

Source: Tiger Research

Consider an analogy. A town named "Tiger Town" has a massive river named "Ethereum." This river is a public good. Anyone can draw water from it. However, fetching water is difficult and inefficient. Everyone must carry buckets to the river to draw water directly. To use it as drinking water, they must boil or filter it through a purification process.

This is how the current blockchain development environment operates. Abundant data is readily available, but infrastructure to leverage it is lacking. For instance, suppose a developer wants to build a dApp using transaction data from the decentralized exchange Uniswap. The developer must request data via Ethereum's RPC nodes, process it, and store it. However, RPC nodes have limitations for large-scale data analysis or complex query execution. The blockchain ecosystem operates in a multi-chain environment comprising numerous blockchains. This complicates the issue further.

Developers can use centralized services like Alchemy or Infura to overcome these limitations. However, this approach undermines decentralization, a core value of blockchain technology. Even if smart contracts are decentralized, centralized data access introduces censorship risks and single points of failure. The blockchain ecosystem needs fundamental innovation in data access methods to achieve true accessibility.

2. Subsquid: A New Paradigm for Blockchain Data Infrastructure

Source: SQD

Subsquid (hereafter SQD) is a decentralized data infrastructure project aiming to solve the complexity and inefficiency of blockchain data access. SQD's goal is to enable anyone to easily leverage blockchain data.

Source: Tiger Research

Returning to the earlier analogy: Previously, everyone had to carry buckets to the river to draw water directly. Now, distributed water purification plants draw water from the river and purify it. The townspeople no longer need to go to the river. They can get clean water whenever needed. The SQD team provides this infrastructure through the "SQD Network."

The SQD Network operates as a distributed query engine and data lake. It currently supports processing data from over 200 blockchain networks. Since its mainnet launch in June 2024, its scale has grown to handle hundreds of millions of queries monthly. This growth stems from three core features. These features elevate SQD beyond a simple data indexing platform and demonstrate the evolution of blockchain data infrastructure.

2.1. Decentralized Architecture for High Availability

A significant portion of existing blockchain data infrastructure relies on centralized providers like Alchemy. This approach has advantages in initial accessibility and management efficiency. However, it limits users to chains supported by the provider and can lead to high costs as usage increases. It is also susceptible to single points of failure. This centralized structure conflicts with the core value of decentralization in blockchain.

The SQD Network addresses these limitations through a decentralized architecture. Data providers collect raw data from various blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. They split the data into chunks, compress it, attach metadata, and upload it to the network. Worker nodes take the data from the permanent storage created by data providers, split it into chunks, and store it distributedly. When a query request arrives, they process it quickly and respond. Each worker node acts like a mini-API, providing the data it stores. The entire network operates like thousands of distributed API servers. Gateway operators act as the interface between end-users and the network. They receive user queries and forward them to appropriate worker nodes for processing.

Source: SQD

Anyone can participate as a worker node or gateway operator. This allows network capacity and processing performance to scale horizontally. Data is redundantly stored across multiple worker nodes. Even if some nodes fail, overall data access remains unaffected. This ensures high availability and resilience.

During the initial bootstrapping phase, data providers are currently managed by the SQD team. This strategy ensures initial data quality and stability. As the network matures, external providers will be able to participate through token governance. This will fully decentralize the data sourcing stage.

2.2. Tokenomics Ensuring Network Sustainability

For a distributed network to function properly, participants need incentives to act voluntarily. SQD addresses this through an economic incentive structure centered around the native token $SQD. Each participant stakes or delegates tokens according to their role and responsibilities. This collectively builds the network's stability and reliability.

Worker nodes are the core operators managing blockchain data. To participate, they must stake 100,000 $SQD as collateral against malicious behavior or providing incorrect data. If issues arise, the network slashes their deposit. Nodes consistently providing stable and accurate data are rewarded with $SQD tokens. This naturally incentivizes responsible operation.

Gateway operators must lock $SQD tokens to handle user requests. The amount of locked tokens determines their bandwidth, i.e., the number of requests they can handle. Longer lock-up periods allow them to process more requests.

Token holders can indirectly participate in the network without running nodes themselves by delegating their stake to trusted worker nodes. Nodes with more delegation gain the right to process more queries and earn more rewards. Delegators share a portion of these rewards. Currently, there are no minimum delegation requirements or lock-up period restrictions. This creates a permissionless curation system where the community selects nodes in real-time. The entire community participates in network quality management through this structure.

2.3. Modular Structure Enabling Flexibility

Another notable feature of the SQD Network is its modular structure. Existing indexing solutions often adopt a monolithic architecture, handling all steps—data collection, processing, storage, and querying—within a single system. This simplifies initial setup but limits developers' freedom to choose data processing methods or storage locations.

SQD completely separates the data access layer from the processing layer. The SQD Network handles only the E (Extraction) part of the ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) process. It acts solely as a "data feed," quickly and reliably extracting raw blockchain data. Developers use the SQD SDK to freely choose how to transform and store the data.

This structure provides practical flexibility. Developers can store data in PostgreSQL and serve it via a GraphQL API. They can export it as CSV or Parquet files. They can load it directly into cloud data warehouses like Google BigQuery. Future plans include supporting large-scale data analysis environments via Snowflake and integrating with Kafka for direct data streaming without separate storage, enabling real-time analysis and monitoring platforms.

SQD co-founder Dmitry Zhelezov compares this to "providing Lego bricks." Instead of delivering finished products, SQD provides the highest-performing, most reliable raw materials to developers. Developers combine these materials according to their needs to complete their own data infrastructure. Both traditional enterprises and crypto projects can process blockchain data using familiar tools and languages. They can flexibly build data pipelines optimized for their specific industries and use cases.

3. Subsquid's Next Steps: Towards Better Data Infrastructure

The SQD team has reduced the complexity and inefficiency of blockchain data access through the SQD Network and laid the foundation for decentralized data infrastructure. However, as the scale and scope of blockchain data usage rapidly expand, simple accessibility is no longer sufficient. The ecosystem now demands faster processing speeds and more flexible utilization environments.

The SQD team is advancing the network structure to meet these demands. The team focuses on increasing data processing speed and creating structures capable of handling data without relying on servers. To achieve this, SQD is developing 1) SQD Portal and 2) Light Squid in stages.

3.1. SQD Portal: Decentralized Parallel Processing & Real-Time Data

In the existing SQD Network, gateways act as intermediaries connecting end-users and worker nodes. When a user requests a query, the gateway forwards it to an appropriate worker node and returns the response to the end-user. This process is stable but can only process queries sequentially, one at a time. Large-scale queries require considerable time. Even with thousands of worker nodes available, the system fails to fully utilize their processing capacity.

Source: SQD

The SQD team aims to solve this with the SQD Portal. The core of the Portal is decentralized parallel processing. It splits a single query into multiple parts and sends requests simultaneously to roughly 3000 or more worker nodes. Each worker node processes the part assigned to it in parallel. The Portal then collects these responses in real-time and delivers them via streaming.

The Portal prefetches data into a buffer. This ensures uninterrupted delivery even if network latency or temporary failures occur. Much like YouTube buffers videos for seamless playback, users receive data without waiting. The team also refactored the original Python-based query engine into Rust, significantly improving parallel processing performance. Overall processing speed has increased by tens of times compared to before.

The Portal goes further by addressing real-time data. No matter how fast data processing becomes, worker nodes only store finalized historical blocks. They cannot retrieve the latest transactions or block information just generated. Users previously still had to rely on external RPC nodes for this information. The Portal solves this through a real-time distributed stream called "Hotblocks." Hotblocks collect newly generated, unconfirmed blocks in real-time from blockchain RPC nodes or dedicated streaming services and store them within the Portal. The Portal merges finalized historical data from worker nodes with the latest block data from Hotblocks. Users can receive data from the past to the present in a single request without separate RPC connections.

The SQD team plans to fully transition existing gateways to the Portal. The Portal is currently in a closed beta. In the future, anyone will be able to run a Portal node directly and perform the gateway role within the network. Existing gateway operators will naturally transition to Portal operators. (The SQD network architecture can be found at this link.)

3.2. Light Squid: Indexing in the Local Environment

The SQD Network reliably supplies data, but developers still face the limitations of operating independent servers. Even retrieving data from worker nodes via the Portal requires a large database server like PostgreSQL to process and deliver it to users. This process entails significant infrastructure setup and maintenance costs. Data still relies on a single provider (the developer's server), which is far from a truly distributed structure.

Light Squid simplifies this intermediate step. The original structure is like a wholesaler (the developer) operating a large warehouse (server) to distribute data to consumers. Light Squid transforms this into a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) approach, delivering data directly from the source (SQD Network) to the end-user. Users receive the necessary data via the Portal and store it in their local environment. They can query it directly in their browser or on personal devices. Developers don't need to maintain separate servers. Users can view locally stored data even if their internet connection is interrupted.

For example, an application displaying NFT transaction history can now run directly in the user's browser without a central server. This is similar to how Instagram in Web2 displays the feed offline. It aims to provide a smooth user experience for dApps in the local environment. However, Light Squid is designed as an option to achieve the same indexing environment locally. It does not completely replace server-centric structures. Data is still supplied through the distributed network. As the scope of utilization expands to the user level, the SQD ecosystem is expected to evolve into a more accessible form.

4. How Subsquid Works in Practice

The SQD Network is merely infrastructure providing data, but its application scope is limitless. Just as all IT-based industries begin with data, improvements in data infrastructure expand the possibilities of all services built upon it. SQD is already changing how blockchain data is utilized across various fields and delivering concrete results.

4.1. DApp Developers: Unified Multi-Chain Data Management

The decentralized exchange PancakeSwap is a representative case. In a multi-chain environment, an exchange must aggregate trading volume, liquidity pool data, and token pair information for each chain in real-time. Previously, developers had to connect RPC nodes for each chain, parse event logs, and individually align different data structures. This process repeated every time a new chain was added. Maintenance burden increased with each protocol upgrade.

After adopting SQD, PancakeSwap can now manage data from multiple chains through a unified pipeline. SQD provides data for each chain in a standardized format. Now, one indexer can handle all chains simultaneously. Adding a new chain now requires only configuration changes. Data processing logic is managed consistently from a central location. The development team spends less time on data infrastructure management. They can now focus more on core service improvements.

4.2. Data Analysts: Flexible Data Processing & Integrated Analysis

On-chain analysis platforms like Dune and Artemis offer high accessibility and convenience by allowing easy data querying using SQL. However, their limitation is that work is confined within the chains and data structures supported by the platform. Combining external data or performing complex transformations requires additional processes.

SQD complements this environment by enabling data analysts to process data more freely. Users can directly extract necessary blockchain data, transform it into the desired format, and load it into their own databases or warehouses. For example, an analyst can retrieve trading data for a specific DEX, aggregate it by time period, combine it with existing financial data, and apply it to their own analytical models. SQD does not replace the convenience of existing platforms. It adds freedom and scalability to data processing. Analysts can expand the depth and application scope of on-chain data analysis through broader data ranges and customized processing methods.

4.3. AI Agents: Core Infrastructure for the Agent Economy

For AI agents to autonomously make decisions and execute transactions, they need infrastructure guaranteeing reliability and transparency. Blockchain provides a suitable foundation for autonomous agents. All transaction records are transparently public and difficult to tamper with. Cryptocurrency payments enable automatic execution.

However, AI agents currently struggle to access blockchain infrastructure directly. Each developer must individually build and integrate data sources. Network structures vary, hindering standardized access. Even centralized API services require multiple steps, including account registration, key issuance, and payment setup. These processes presuppose human intervention and are unsuitable for autonomous environments.

The SQD Network bridges this gap. Based on a permissionless architecture, agents automate data requests and payments using the $SQD token. They receive necessary information in real-time and process it independently. This establishes the operational foundation for autonomous AIs that connect directly to the data network without human intervention.

Source: Rezolve.Ai

On October 9, 2025, Rezolve AI's announcement of acquiring SQD further clarified this direction. Rezolve is a Nasdaq-listed AI-based business solutions provider. Through this acquisition, Rezolve is building the core infrastructure for the AI agent economy. Rezolve plans to integrate the digital asset payment infrastructure from its previously acquired Smartpay with SQD's distributed data layer. This will create integrated infrastructure enabling AI to handle data, intelligence, and payments in a single process. Once Rezolve completes this integration, AI agents will analyze blockchain data in real-time and execute transactions independently. This marks a significant turning point for SQD as the data infrastructure for the AI agent economy.

4.4. Institutional Investors: Real-Time Data Infrastructure for the Institutional Market

With the expansion of real-world asset tokenization (RWA), institutional investors are actively participating on-chain. Institutions require data infrastructure that guarantees accuracy and transparency for utilizing on-chain data in trading, settlement, and risk management.

Source: OceanStream

SQD launched OceanStream to meet this demand. OceanStream is a decentralized data lakehouse platform that streams data from over 200 blockchains in real-time. The platform is designed to provide institutional-grade data quality and stability. It combines sub-second latency streaming with over 3PB of indexed historical data to improve the backtesting, market analysis, and risk assessment environment for financial institutions. This enables institutions to monitor more chains and asset classes in real-time at lower costs. They can perform regulatory reporting and market monitoring within a unified, integrated system.

OceanStream participated in a crypto working group roundtable hosted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, discussing how the transparency and verifiability of on-chain data impact market stability and investor protection. This indicates SQD is establishing itself as a data-based structure connecting the tokenized financial market with institutional capital, not merely simple development infrastructure.

5. SQD's Vision: Building the Data Pillar of Web3

The competitiveness of the Web3 industry depends on its ability to leverage data. However, data remains fragmented due to different blockchain structures. Infrastructure to handle this effectively is still in its early stages. SQD bridges this gap by building a standardized data layer that processes all blockchain data within a single structure. Beyond on-chain data, SQD plans to integrate off-chain data, including financial transactions, social media, and corporate operations, to create an analytical environment spanning both worlds.

This vision is akin to how Snowflake set the standard for data integration in traditional industries with "one platform, multiple workloads." SQD aims to establish itself as the data pillar of Web3 by integrating blockchain data and connecting off-chain data sources.

However, SQD needs time to evolve into fully decentralized infrastructure. The project is currently in its bootstrapping phase, with the SQD team still playing a significant role. Limitations exist in the size of the developer community and ecosystem diversity. Nonetheless, the growth demonstrated just over a year since the mainnet launch, coupled with strategic expansion through the Rezolve AI acquisition, shows a clear direction. SQD is charting the path forward for blockchain data infrastructure and evolving into the data foundation supporting the entire Web3 ecosystem—from dApp development to institutional investment, and the AI agent economy. Its potential is expected to grow significantly.

Subsquid (SQD) is a decentralized blockchain data infrastructure project designed to address the issue of high blockchain data transparency coupled with practical accessibility challenges. Through its modular, decentralized network architecture, it enables developers to access and utilize multi-chain data efficiently and flexibly.

Core Highlights:

* Decentralized Architecture: The SQD network supports over 200 blockchains, with data distributed across numerous global nodes, ensuring high availability and censorship resistance, thereby avoiding the single point of failure risk inherent in traditional centralized services.

* Modular Design: It separates data extraction from processing. Developers can use the SQD SDK to freely choose data transformation, storage, and query methods (e.g., PostgreSQL, BigQuery), offering high flexibility.

* Tokenomics: The native token $SQD incentivizes network participants (worker nodes, gateway operators, and delegators), ensuring network security and sustainable operation.

* Technological Evolution: Actively developing SQD Portal (supporting parallel processing and real-time data streams) and Light Squid (enabling localized data indexing) to enhance data processing speed and user experience.

Application Scenarios:

* DApp Developers: Projects like PancakeSwap manage multi-chain data uniformly, reducing development and maintenance costs.

* Data Analysts: Supports custom data processing, complementing existing tools (like Dune) and expanding analytical dimensions.

* AI & Institutions: Through the acquisition of Rezolve AI, it integrates data and payment functionalities, providing infrastructure for the AI agent economy; launched OceanStream to meet institutional demand for real-time, verifiable on-chain data.

Vision: Emulating Snowflake's "one platform, multiple workloads" model, Subsquid aims to become the data backbone of Web3, connecting on-chain and off-chain data to support dApp development, institutional finance, and AI ecosystem growth.

Summary / Expand

This report by Tiger Research analyzes Subsquid's decentralized data infrastructure, designed to bridge the gap between blockchain data transparency and accessibility.

Key Summary Points

Subsquid (hereafter SQD) simplifies blockchain data access via decentralized infrastructure. It supports over 200 blockchains and distributes data across multiple nodes.

The SQD network employs a modular structure, allowing developers to freely configure data processing and storage methods. This enables users to efficiently utilize data in a multi-chain environment through a unified structure.

Subsquid aims to be the data pillar of Web3, similar to the standard set by Snowflake with "one platform, multiple workloads." Through its recent acquisition of Rezolve AI, it is expanding into AI and payments. SQD is poised to become core infrastructure connecting Web3 and the agent economy.

1. Is Blockchain Data Truly Open to Everyone?

One of the defining characteristics of blockchain technology is that all its data is open to everyone. Traditional industries store data in closed databases inaccessible from the outside. Blockchain operates differently. All records are published transparently on-chain.

However, data transparency does not guarantee ease of use. Data transparency does not ensure accessibility. Blockchains are optimized to securely execute transactions and achieve network consensus. They are not designed as infrastructure for data analysis. The capabilities for verifying and storing data have advanced, but the infrastructure for efficiently querying and utilizing that data remains insufficient. The methods for querying on-chain data have not significantly changed from a decade ago to today.

Source: Tiger Research

Consider an analogy. A town named "Tiger Town" has a massive river named "Ethereum." This river is a public good. Anyone can draw water from it. However, fetching water is difficult and inefficient. Everyone must carry buckets to the river to draw water directly. To use it as drinking water, they must boil or filter it through a purification process.

This is how the current blockchain development environment operates. Abundant data is readily available, but infrastructure to leverage it is lacking. For instance, suppose a developer wants to build a dApp using transaction data from the decentralized exchange Uniswap. The developer must request data via Ethereum's RPC nodes, process it, and store it. However, RPC nodes have limitations for large-scale data analysis or complex query execution. The blockchain ecosystem operates in a multi-chain environment comprising numerous blockchains. This complicates the issue further.

Developers can use centralized services like Alchemy or Infura to overcome these limitations. However, this approach undermines decentralization, a core value of blockchain technology. Even if smart contracts are decentralized, centralized data access introduces censorship risks and single points of failure. The blockchain ecosystem needs fundamental innovation in data access methods to achieve true accessibility.

2. Subsquid: A New Paradigm for Blockchain Data Infrastructure

Source: SQD

Subsquid (hereafter SQD) is a decentralized data infrastructure project aiming to solve the complexity and inefficiency of blockchain data access. SQD's goal is to enable anyone to easily leverage blockchain data.

Source: Tiger Research

Returning to the earlier analogy: Previously, everyone had to carry buckets to the river to draw water directly. Now, distributed water purification plants draw water from the river and purify it. The townspeople no longer need to go to the river. They can get clean water whenever needed. The SQD team provides this infrastructure through the "SQD Network."

The SQD Network operates as a distributed query engine and data lake. It currently supports processing data from over 200 blockchain networks. Since its mainnet launch in June 2024, its scale has grown to handle hundreds of millions of queries monthly. This growth stems from three core features. These features elevate SQD beyond a simple data indexing platform and demonstrate the evolution of blockchain data infrastructure.

2.1. Decentralized Architecture for High Availability

A significant portion of existing blockchain data infrastructure relies on centralized providers like Alchemy. This approach has advantages in initial accessibility and management efficiency. However, it limits users to chains supported by the provider and can lead to high costs as usage increases. It is also susceptible to single points of failure. This centralized structure conflicts with the core value of decentralization in blockchain.

The SQD Network addresses these limitations through a decentralized architecture. Data providers collect raw data from various blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. They split the data into chunks, compress it, attach metadata, and upload it to the network. Worker nodes take the data from the permanent storage created by data providers, split it into chunks, and store it distributedly. When a query request arrives, they process it quickly and respond. Each worker node acts like a mini-API, providing the data it stores. The entire network operates like thousands of distributed API servers. Gateway operators act as the interface between end-users and the network. They receive user queries and forward them to appropriate worker nodes for processing.

Source: SQD

Anyone can participate as a worker node or gateway operator. This allows network capacity and processing performance to scale horizontally. Data is redundantly stored across multiple worker nodes. Even if some nodes fail, overall data access remains unaffected. This ensures high availability and resilience.

During the initial bootstrapping phase, data providers are currently managed by the SQD team. This strategy ensures initial data quality and stability. As the network matures, external providers will be able to participate through token governance. This will fully decentralize the data sourcing stage.

2.2. Tokenomics Ensuring Network Sustainability

For a distributed network to function properly, participants need incentives to act voluntarily. SQD addresses this through an economic incentive structure centered around the native token $SQD. Each participant stakes or delegates tokens according to their role and responsibilities. This collectively builds the network's stability and reliability.

Worker nodes are the core operators managing blockchain data. To participate, they must stake 100,000 $SQD as collateral against malicious behavior or providing incorrect data. If issues arise, the network slashes their deposit. Nodes consistently providing stable and accurate data are rewarded with $SQD tokens. This naturally incentivizes responsible operation.

Gateway operators must lock $SQD tokens to handle user requests. The amount of locked tokens determines their bandwidth, i.e., the number of requests they can handle. Longer lock-up periods allow them to process more requests.

Token holders can indirectly participate in the network without running nodes themselves by delegating their stake to trusted worker nodes. Nodes with more delegation gain the right to process more queries and earn more rewards. Delegators share a portion of these rewards. Currently, there are no minimum delegation requirements or lock-up period restrictions. This creates a permissionless curation system where the community selects nodes in real-time. The entire community participates in network quality management through this structure.

2.3. Modular Structure Enabling Flexibility

Another notable feature of the SQD Network is its modular structure. Existing indexing solutions often adopt a monolithic architecture, handling all steps—data collection, processing, storage, and querying—within a single system. This simplifies initial setup but limits developers' freedom to choose data processing methods or storage locations.

SQD completely separates the data access layer from the processing layer. The SQD Network handles only the E (Extraction) part of the ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) process. It acts solely as a "data feed," quickly and reliably extracting raw blockchain data. Developers use the SQD SDK to freely choose how to transform and store the data.

This structure provides practical flexibility. Developers can store data in PostgreSQL and serve it via a GraphQL API. They can export it as CSV or Parquet files. They can load it directly into cloud data warehouses like Google BigQuery. Future plans include supporting large-scale data analysis environments via Snowflake and integrating with Kafka for direct data streaming without separate storage, enabling real-time analysis and monitoring platforms.

SQD co-founder Dmitry Zhelezov compares this to "providing Lego bricks." Instead of delivering finished products, SQD provides the highest-performing, most reliable raw materials to developers. Developers combine these materials according to their needs to complete their own data infrastructure. Both traditional enterprises and crypto projects can process blockchain data using familiar tools and languages. They can flexibly build data pipelines optimized for their specific industries and use cases.

3. Subsquid's Next Steps: Towards Better Data Infrastructure

The SQD team has reduced the complexity and inefficiency of blockchain data access through the SQD Network and laid the foundation for decentralized data infrastructure. However, as the scale and scope of blockchain data usage rapidly expand, simple accessibility is no longer sufficient. The ecosystem now demands faster processing speeds and more flexible utilization environments.

The SQD team is advancing the network structure to meet these demands. The team focuses on increasing data processing speed and creating structures capable of handling data without relying on servers. To achieve this, SQD is developing 1) SQD Portal and 2) Light Squid in stages.

3.1. SQD Portal: Decentralized Parallel Processing & Real-Time Data

In the existing SQD Network, gateways act as intermediaries connecting end-users and worker nodes. When a user requests a query, the gateway forwards it to an appropriate worker node and returns the response to the end-user. This process is stable but can only process queries sequentially, one at a time. Large-scale queries require considerable time. Even with thousands of worker nodes available, the system fails to fully utilize their processing capacity.

Source: SQD

The SQD team aims to solve this with the SQD Portal. The core of the Portal is decentralized parallel processing. It splits a single query into multiple parts and sends requests simultaneously to roughly 3000 or more worker nodes. Each worker node processes the part assigned to it in parallel. The Portal then collects these responses in real-time and delivers them via streaming.

The Portal prefetches data into a buffer. This ensures uninterrupted delivery even if network latency or temporary failures occur. Much like YouTube buffers videos for seamless playback, users receive data without waiting. The team also refactored the original Python-based query engine into Rust, significantly improving parallel processing performance. Overall processing speed has increased by tens of times compared to before.

The Portal goes further by addressing real-time data. No matter how fast data processing becomes, worker nodes only store finalized historical blocks. They cannot retrieve the latest transactions or block information just generated. Users previously still had to rely on external RPC nodes for this information. The Portal solves this through a real-time distributed stream called "Hotblocks." Hotblocks collect newly generated, unconfirmed blocks in real-time from blockchain RPC nodes or dedicated streaming services and store them within the Portal. The Portal merges finalized historical data from worker nodes with the latest block data from Hotblocks. Users can receive data from the past to the present in a single request without separate RPC connections.

The SQD team plans to fully transition existing gateways to the Portal. The Portal is currently in a closed beta. In the future, anyone will be able to run a Portal node directly and perform the gateway role within the network. Existing gateway operators will naturally transition to Portal operators. (The SQD network architecture can be found at this link.)

3.2. Light Squid: Indexing in the Local Environment

The SQD Network reliably supplies data, but developers still face the limitations of operating independent servers. Even retrieving data from worker nodes via the Portal requires a large database server like PostgreSQL to process and deliver it to users. This process entails significant infrastructure setup and maintenance costs. Data still relies on a single provider (the developer's server), which is far from a truly distributed structure.

Light Squid simplifies this intermediate step. The original structure is like a wholesaler (the developer) operating a large warehouse (server) to distribute data to consumers. Light Squid transforms this into a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) approach, delivering data directly from the source (SQD Network) to the end-user. Users receive the necessary data via the Portal and store it in their local environment. They can query it directly in their browser or on personal devices. Developers don't need to maintain separate servers. Users can view locally stored data even if their internet connection is interrupted.

For example, an application displaying NFT transaction history can now run directly in the user's browser without a central server. This is similar to how Instagram in Web2 displays the feed offline. It aims to provide a smooth user experience for dApps in the local environment. However, Light Squid is designed as an option to achieve the same indexing environment locally. It does not completely replace server-centric structures. Data is still supplied through the distributed network. As the scope of utilization expands to the user level, the SQD ecosystem is expected to evolve into a more accessible form.

4. How Subsquid Works in Practice

The SQD Network is merely infrastructure providing data, but its application scope is limitless. Just as all IT-based industries begin with data, improvements in data infrastructure expand the possibilities of all services built upon it. SQD is already changing how blockchain data is utilized across various fields and delivering concrete results.

4.1. DApp Developers: Unified Multi-Chain Data Management

The decentralized exchange PancakeSwap is a representative case. In a multi-chain environment, an exchange must aggregate trading volume, liquidity pool data, and token pair information for each chain in real-time. Previously, developers had to connect RPC nodes for each chain, parse event logs, and individually align different data structures. This process repeated every time a new chain was added. Maintenance burden increased with each protocol upgrade.

After adopting SQD, PancakeSwap can now manage data from multiple chains through a unified pipeline. SQD provides data for each chain in a standardized format. Now, one indexer can handle all chains simultaneously. Adding a new chain now requires only configuration changes. Data processing logic is managed consistently from a central location. The development team spends less time on data infrastructure management. They can now focus more on core service improvements.

4.2. Data Analysts: Flexible Data Processing & Integrated Analysis

On-chain analysis platforms like Dune and Artemis offer high accessibility and convenience by allowing easy data querying using SQL. However, their limitation is that work is confined within the chains and data structures supported by the platform. Combining external data or performing complex transformations requires additional processes.

SQD complements this environment by enabling data analysts to process data more freely. Users can directly extract necessary blockchain data, transform it into the desired format, and load it into their own databases or warehouses. For example, an analyst can retrieve trading data for a specific DEX, aggregate it by time period, combine it with existing financial data, and apply it to their own analytical models. SQD does not replace the convenience of existing platforms. It adds freedom and scalability to data processing. Analysts can expand the depth and application scope of on-chain data analysis through broader data ranges and customized processing methods.

4.3. AI Agents: Core Infrastructure for the Agent Economy

For AI agents to autonomously make decisions and execute transactions, they need infrastructure guaranteeing reliability and transparency. Blockchain provides a suitable foundation for autonomous agents. All transaction records are transparently public and difficult to tamper with. Cryptocurrency payments enable automatic execution.

However, AI agents currently struggle to access blockchain infrastructure directly. Each developer must individually build and integrate data sources. Network structures vary, hindering standardized access. Even centralized API services require multiple steps, including account registration, key issuance, and payment setup. These processes presuppose human intervention and are unsuitable for autonomous environments.

The SQD Network bridges this gap. Based on a permissionless architecture, agents automate data requests and payments using the $SQD token. They receive necessary information in real-time and process it independently. This establishes the operational foundation for autonomous AIs that connect directly to the data network without human intervention.

Source: Rezolve.Ai

On October 9, 2025, Rezolve AI's announcement of acquiring SQD further clarified this direction. Rezolve is a Nasdaq-listed AI-based business solutions provider. Through this acquisition, Rezolve is building the core infrastructure for the AI agent economy. Rezolve plans to integrate the digital asset payment infrastructure from its previously acquired Smartpay with SQD's distributed data layer. This will create integrated infrastructure enabling AI to handle data, intelligence, and payments in a single process. Once Rezolve completes this integration, AI agents will analyze blockchain data in real-time and execute transactions independently. This marks a significant turning point for SQD as the data infrastructure for the AI agent economy.

4.4. Institutional Investors: Real-Time Data Infrastructure for the Institutional Market

With the expansion of real-world asset tokenization (RWA), institutional investors are actively participating on-chain. Institutions require data infrastructure that guarantees accuracy and transparency for utilizing on-chain data in trading, settlement, and risk management.

Source: OceanStream

SQD launched OceanStream to meet this demand. OceanStream is a decentralized data lakehouse platform that streams data from over 200 blockchains in real-time. The platform is designed to provide institutional-grade data quality and stability. It combines sub-second latency streaming with over 3PB of indexed historical data to improve the backtesting, market analysis, and risk assessment environment for financial institutions. This enables institutions to monitor more chains and asset classes in real-time at lower costs. They can perform regulatory reporting and market monitoring within a unified, integrated system.

OceanStream participated in a crypto working group roundtable hosted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, discussing how the transparency and verifiability of on-chain data impact market stability and investor protection. This indicates SQD is establishing itself as a data-based structure connecting the tokenized financial market with institutional capital, not merely simple development infrastructure.

5. SQD's Vision: Building the Data Pillar of Web3

The competitiveness of the Web3 industry depends on its ability to leverage data. However, data remains fragmented due to different blockchain structures. Infrastructure to handle this effectively is still in its early stages. SQD bridges this gap by building a standardized data layer that processes all blockchain data within a single structure. Beyond on-chain data, SQD plans to integrate off-chain data, including financial transactions, social media, and corporate operations, to create an analytical environment spanning both worlds.

This vision is akin to how Snowflake set the standard for data integration in traditional industries with "one platform, multiple workloads." SQD aims to establish itself as the data pillar of Web3 by integrating blockchain data and connecting off-chain data sources.

However, SQD needs time to evolve into fully decentralized infrastructure. The project is currently in its bootstrapping phase, with the SQD team still playing a significant role. Limitations exist in the size of the developer community and ecosystem diversity. Nonetheless, the growth demonstrated just over a year since the mainnet launch, coupled with strategic expansion through the Rezolve AI acquisition, shows a clear direction. SQD is charting the path forward for blockchain data infrastructure and evolving into the data foundation supporting the entire Web3 ecosystem—from dApp development to institutional investment, and the AI agent economy. Its potential is expected to grow significantly.