Chain, a blockchain infrastructure company backed by Visa and Nasdaq, has been acquired by Lightyear.io in an undisclosed deal. The combined entity, called Interstellar, will be led by Chain CEO Adam Ludwin and Stellar creator Jed McCaleb, merging enterprise blockchain expertise with Stellar protocol capabilities.
Chain, which raised over $40 million from financial institutions including Visa and Nasdaq, has been acquired by Lightyear.io in a deal closed September 5. The merger creates Interstellar, led by Chain CEO Adam Ludwin as CEO and Jed McCaleb, creator of the Stellar protocol, as CTO. The combined company retains all 60 Chain employees and will converge Chain's private blockchain tools with Stellar's open-source protocol to serve both enterprise and public network use cases. Ludwin emphasized the acquisition addresses mutual gaps: Chain needed open-source infrastructure while Stellar needed institutional partnerships. Interstellar will continue operating Chain's Sequence cloud service and Chain Protocol while integrating Stellar Development Foundation software.
