What Bison Trails does

Bison Trails is a blockchain infrastructure company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, that originally enabled users to operate secure infrastructure across multiple blockchain networks. The company raised approximately $30.75 million across two funding rounds in 2019, with its $25.5 million Series B led by Coinbase Ventures and Blockchain Capital — a signal that ultimately led to integration into Coinbase and evolution of its technology into Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP).

Under the Coinbase Developer Platform brand, the offering has expanded into a comprehensive crypto-as-a-service suite exposing APIs and SDKs for stablecoin payments, crypto trading and custody, customizable wallets, USDC and custom stablecoins, and onchain tools including Node, Data API, Verifications, AgentKit, Staking, Faucet, Exchange, Prime, and Derivatives APIs. The platform targets a horizontally segmented customer base — banks and brokerages requiring regulated crypto offerings, payment service providers needing global stablecoin rails, brokerages expanding into crypto trading, and startups building onchain applications.

The business model combines a freemium self-serve developer tier (single API key, monthly billing) with quote-based enterprise contracts (annual billing) and revenue from transaction/trading fees on the trading API. Go-to-market is API-first and developer-led, supported by Coinbase brand and distribution, comprehensive documentation, GitHub and Discord developer communities, case-study content, and a direct enterprise sales motion. Marquee customers include Uniswap, Anthropic, Shopify, Solana, and eToro.

Name

Bison Trails

Website

https://bisontrails.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bison Trails is a blockchain infrastructure company, founded in 2018, whose technology now powers Coinbase Developer Platform — offering APIs and SDKs for payments, trading, wallets, stablecoins, and onchain tools to banks, brokerages, payment firms, and developers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

RPC / Node API Infrastructure Providers (FSADAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), Cross-Chain Developer Tooling (messaging SDKs, relayers, interoperability APIs) (FSAPABAF), Enterprise Payments & Tokenized Money (stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDC rails) (FSAPAIAJ), Digital Asset/Crypto Trade Execution Platforms (FSAFANAO), Stablecoin Payment Rails & Settlement Networks (Issuer-Led) (FSADADAF)

Keywords

• Blockchain infrastructure
• Crypto-as-a-service
• Node infrastructure
• Multi-chain platform
• Blockchain API

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. API/SDK Access Revenue: Revenue generated from developers and companies integrating Coinbase's APIs and SDKs for crypto infrastructure services including payments, trading, wallets, and stablecoins
2. Transaction/Trading Fees: Revenue from trading API usage and transaction processing through the platform
3. Enterprise Services: Professional services and custom integration support for enterprise clients including banks and institutions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bison Trails provides secure, managed blockchain node infrastructure that allows enterprises and developers to run infrastructure across multiple blockchain networks without having to operate nodes themselves. The platform simplifies participation in multiple blockchain protocols by abstracting away the complexity of node operations, staking, and consensus participation. Following its acquisition by Coinbase, the offering has been integrated into the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP), which now provides crypto-as-a-service APIs and SDKs for payments, trading, wallets, stablecoins, and onchain tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blockchain Node Infrastructure Platform Managed, secure blockchain node infrastructure service enabling enterprises, developers, and institutions to operate nodes across multiple blockchain networks without managing underlying infrastructure themselves.
• Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Single API key integration enables developers to start building in minutes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• UniswapflagshipTechnology or IntegrationUniswap, a leading decentralized exchange, is listed as a trusted customer of Coinbase Developer Platform, utilizing Coinbase's infrastructure for wallet and trading capabilities within the DeFi ecosystem.
• AnthropicflagshipTechnology or IntegrationAnthropic, an AI safety company, integrates Coinbase Developer Platform for crypto infrastructure services, leveraging APIs for payment and wallet solutions.
• ShopifyflagshipTechnology or IntegrationShopify, the e-commerce platform, is identified as a customer using Coinbase infrastructure for crypto payment integration capabilities.
• SolanaflagshipTechnology or IntegrationSolana blockchain network is listed as a trusted customer, utilizing Coinbase Developer Platform tools for ecosystem development and integration.
• eToroflagshipTechnology or IntegrationeToro, the multi-asset trading platform, integrates Coinbase Developer Platform for crypto services and trading infrastructure.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• QuickNode: QuickNode provides multi-chain RPC endpoints, APIs, and developer tools for building and scaling blockchain applications. Its focus on developer experience and multi-chain coverage makes it a close direct competitor to CDP's Node and Onchain Tools products.
• Chainstack: Chainstack offers managed blockchain infrastructure, RPC endpoints, and developer tooling across major protocols. It targets the same developer and enterprise customer base as CDP, providing an alternative for node and API services.
• Figment: Figment is a blockchain infrastructure provider offering node services, staking, and APIs across many networks. It competes with CDP's Node API and Staking offerings for institutional and enterprise customers seeking reliable infrastructure.
• Infura (Consensys): Infura is one of the longest-standing Ethereum and multi-chain RPC/node infrastructure providers, now part of Consensys. It serves developers and enterprises with API access to blockchain nodes and Web3 tooling, directly overlapping with CDP's core node and developer offerings.
• Alchemy: Alchemy is a leading blockchain developer platform offering node infrastructure, APIs, and developer tooling across dozens of chains. It competes most directly with CDP's Node API and Onchain Tools suite for developers and enterprises building crypto applications.
• Blockdaemon: Blockdaemon provides institutional-grade blockchain node infrastructure and staking across many networks, with strong compliance and SLAs. It competes with CDP for institutional node and staking customers, particularly banks and financial institutions.

Broad incumbents

• Fireblocks: Fireblocks is an institutional digital asset custody, settlement, and tokenization platform serving banks, trading firms, and fintechs. It overlaps with CDP's custody and payments offerings but is broader, serving as an incumbent infrastructure provider in the institutional crypto stack.
• Anchorage Digital: Anchorage is a federally chartered crypto bank offering custody, trading, and staking services to institutions. It overlaps with CDP's institutional and bank-focused value proposition around regulated crypto infrastructure, particularly custody and trading.
• Circle: Circle is the issuer of USDC, the regulated dollar stablecoin at the heart of CDP's Stablecoin-as-a-Service. While not a direct competitor to node infrastructure, Circle competes on the stablecoin/payments layer where CDP is building its product and was reportedly the subject of a $4–5B Ripple acquisition bid.

Emerging players

• Pocket Network: Pocket Network is a decentralized RPC protocol that distributes node infrastructure across a global open marketplace of node operators. It competes at the node infrastructure layer with CDP with a different (decentralized) architecture and is a credible alternative for customers seeking multi-vendor or non-Coinbase-controlled infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BisonTrails

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bison Trails