THE BACKGROUND

In late 2022—just weeks after the FTX collapse shook confidence across the crypto ecosystem—Transpose approached Otto for help crafting its Series A fundraising deck. Transpose had built a powerful blockchain data platform used by enterprises to track, index, and analyze on-chain activity. Despite the turbulence in the broader market, the company was experiencing accelerating traction and growing inbound investor interest.

As Otto began working with the founders, it became clear that Transpose was positioned far beyond a typical early-stage raise. Multiple strategic partners were circling, and the investment narrative evolving in the Series A deck quickly became the foundation for a much larger opportunity.

THE CHALLENGE

The environment surrounding blockchain in late 2022 was uniquely fraught. Market trust had evaporated. Investors were skittish. Acquirers were publicly distancing themselves from anything resembling “crypto hype.”

To succeed, Transpose needed a narrative that simultaneously neutralized the FTX fallout and reframed blockchain as an inevitable, infrastructure-level opportunity. Otto helped the team articulate a strategic story around three core pillars:

1. The real value creation in blockchain was just beginning. The collapse of speculative exchanges didn’t weaken the underlying thesis—it validated the need for transparent, mature infrastructure. The next decade of blockchain would be built by data, compliance, and enterprise-grade tooling.

2. Every major financial category has a definitive data provider—and blockchain didn’t yet. Otto positioned Transpose as the emerging “Bloomberg for blockchain,” the company poised to own the analytical rails for an industry that would touch every major asset class.

3. Transpose was already executing at extraordinary velocity. MRR had doubled in the prior month, enterprise customers were expanding, and the team was shipping product at a pace unmatched in the category. This momentum provided proof of inevitability: whichever strategic acquired Transpose would become the market leader.

This sharpened positioning shaped all founder discussions, investor conversations, and strategic partner meetings—including with Chainalysis, one of the most respected and well-capitalized companies in the blockchain analytics space.

THE OUTCOME

The narrative worked. Instead of proceeding with a Series A, Transpose entered competitive acquisition discussions with several strategic partners. Chainalysis—valued at $8B in its most recent funding round—quickly emerged as the ideal long-term home.

Otto guided Transpose’s leadership through the messaging, framing, and strategic storytelling used throughout the negotiation process. The result was a cash-and-stock acquisition that delivered an exceptional outcome for the founders, the team, and the product’s continued growth inside the world’s leading blockchain analysis company.

Transpose achieved in months what most startups take years to reach: a category-defining strategic exit driven by disciplined positioning, narrative clarity, and a compelling vision for the future of blockchain data. The deal also created visibility and coverage across a range of important publications, including Yahoo Finance, Decrypt, The Block, and Crowdfund Insider.