Ethereum development shop ConsenSys has acquired Hal, a platform that sifts through blockchain data and allows users to create notifications for things like trading, governance voting and tax compliance, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition brings 10 Hal employees and more than 40 application programming interfaces (APIs) for “blockchain listening and signals” to Infura, ConsenSys' popular Web3 connectivity layer. The APIs are part of an evolving process to make tools like Infura easier to use as the next-generation, decentralized internet develops.

Now is a good time to be selling the picks and shovels needed to build that new internet, Infura co-founder E.G. Galano said in an interview. A seasoned developer has a deeper understanding of how different tokens are being interacted with, for example, because they can plug into raw data from the blockchain and slice and dice it however they want, said Galano. Someone less experienced might be limited to just a front-end tool like Etherscan.