SXT receives support from Microsoft again, what is the potential of data storytelling?

Entering the realm of Decentralization data processing, Microsoft has big ambitions.

Written by: Bright, Foresight News

On the evening of May 20, Microsoft was reported to be collaborating with the crypto startup Space and Time Labs (SXT) to integrate new blockchain data sources into its Fabric analytics platform. Space and Time will provide Fabric users with "real-time, verifiable" data sources for Bitcoin, Sui, and Ethereum on the Microsoft Azure OneLake platform, which is a "data OneDrive" that offers a single cloud storage account.

Space and Time (SXT) is a decentralized database project based on Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZK) aimed at solving the data processing challenges of blockchain smart contracts. Its core technology is the Proof of SQL protocol, which unifies the multi-dimensional data from on-chain (such as Ethereum, Bitcoin) and off-chain (such as traditional databases, IoT data) into SQL-compatible structured tables, allowing developers to query data using standard SQL statements and generate Zero-Knowledge Proofs to verify the correctness and completeness of the results.

SXT was invested in twice by Microsoft's M12 fund (leading $20 million in 2022 and participating in Series A with $20 million in 2024), and collaborated with platforms such as Binance and Chainlink. In May 2025, it successively launched on Binance Launchpool and Binance Alpha, and airdropped to Chainlink stakers and Binance Alpha users.

Solve on-chain, bridge to reality

The current blockchain smart contracts face four major data dilemmas: difficulty in obtaining cross-chain data, lack of tools for complex queries, slow ZK proof speeds, and the centralization risks of oracles. The veteran in decentralized data indexing protocols, The Graph (GRT), focuses on solving the query efficiency problem of on-chain data. It incentivizes nodes (indexers) to extract and structure the raw data from public chains like Ethereum and Polygon (such as transactions and contract events) into queryable API interfaces (Subgraphs), allowing developers to quickly retrieve on-chain information using GraphQL language. However, its functional limitations are very real: it only supports on-chain data, does not involve off-chain or cross-chain integration, and lacks an encryption verification mechanism for query results, with data credibility relying on node economic constraints, among other issues.

The SXT chain is centered around the Proof of SQL protocol, addressing certain native data processing issues of blockchain, and further introducing the data processing capabilities of the real world:

For example, sub-second ZK proofs. STX supports standard SQL syntax (JOIN, GROUP BY, time series analysis, etc.), and can handle cross-chain data associations (such as "the total staking amount of address A on ETH/BSC/zkSync") and historical trend analysis (such as "the reasons for the fluctuations in trading volume of a certain DEX over the past 30 days"), and announces the use of GPU acceleration, generating the corresponding zk-SNARK proof in just "sub-second" speed, far superior to the dozens of seconds required by traditional zkVM. Moreover, STX also supports 100GB-level data queries, achieving "on-chain data sub-second verification."

Moreover, SQL query freedom. STX will transform on-chain data from Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other chains into SQL-compatible table structures, and also support the integration of off-chain data sources (SQL databases, APIs, IoT streams) and cross-chain consolidation. For example, it can synchronize and store a company's off-chain sales data with on-chain transaction records to form a unified dataset. Developers can directly query complex data such as historical transactions and cross-chain assets using SQL statements, without relying on centralized oracles.

In addition, the three-layer node architecture of STX has its own clever design. The indexing nodes extract data from mainstream public chains and store it in a structured manner, while staking SXT ensures the authenticity of the data, with penalties for wrongdoing resulting in the confiscation of tokens; the proof nodes handle query requests and generate ZK proofs, achieving a performance that is an "order of magnitude breakthrough" compared to traditional solutions; validators maintain the immutability of the data through BFT consensus, ensuring that on-chain commitments are consistent with the underlying data.

Microsoft Investment, Diverse Applications

The emergence of the SXT chain once again fulfills the imagination of diverse application scenarios. Perhaps this is also the reason why SXT has continuously received investment from Microsoft's M12 fund (leading with $20 million in 2022 and participating in a $20 million Series A round in 2024).

In the DeFi field, real-time analysis of users' multi-chain asset dynamic adjustments to lending rates can be performed, or cross-chain integration of user assets and protocol health data can support complex derivatives; in enterprise-level scenarios, institutions like FTI Consulting generate tamper-proof audit reports to meet SEC and other regulatory requirements, while industries with strong auditing needs such as the Internet of Things can further ensure data integrity with SXT; in the AI field, on-chain data can be combined with Azure OpenAI to train trustworthy models, such as intelligent trading robots that predict market trends. In the blockchain gaming scenario, off-chain game events can be imported into SXT and sent to NFT smart contracts with ZK proofs, achieving on-chain attribute evolution (levels, skins, rewards). Game studios can analyze player behavior and item economics across chains without relying on centralized data storage.

Moreover, the dream of monetizing data on the blockchain is more likely to become a reality. When a dataset is queried, the publisher can receive SXT token rewards. At the same time, it encourages multiple parties to jointly contribute and query shared data, creating favorable conditions for establishing a Decentralization database alliance.

In terms of token economics, more than 50% of the total supply of 5 billion $SXT belongs to the community, used to incentivize node staking, data provision, and the developer ecosystem. Stakers can earn annualized returns, and data publishers share in revenue based on query volume.

Despite facing challenges in technology implementation and regulatory compliance, the SXT chain, backed by Microsoft and supported by Chainlink, is expected to become the core layer of Web3 data infrastructure with its differentiated positioning of "trusted data + SQL queries," driving the expansion of blockchain from financial applications to enterprise-level data services.