Chainalysis Inc., a startup that helps government agencies and banks detect illicit cryptocurrency transactions, has closed a $100 million funding round at a valuation exceeding $2 billion.
The round, announced this morning, comes just months after the startup’s previous $100 million raise. This latest round saw the participation of Time Ventures, the investment firm of Salesforce.com Inc. Chief Executive Marc Benioff, as well as venture capital firms Addition, Ribbit and Paradigm.
Chainalysis gathers data on illicit cryptocurrency transactions carried out via popular blockchain platforms to help government agencies with investigations. The startup provides information about where funds are headed and pulls related contextual details from external sources such as hacker forums. Chainalysis says its data can be used for, among other things, tracking payments made to hackers after ransomware attacks.
For private sector companies, in turn, Chainalysis offers a broader mix of services. The startup helps financial institutions identify and block illicit cryptocurrency transactions that go through their platforms. For businesses adopting cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, in turn, Chainalysis offers risk ratings of cryptocurrency services that they can use to find the most reliable tool for a given project.
The startup makes its data available via a trio of software products. Chainalysis KYT helps financial institutions monitor cryptocurrency activity on their infrastructure, while Chainalysis Reactor provides features for investigating suspicious transactions. The startup’s third main product, Chainalysis Kryptos, provides access to the startup’s cryptocurrency service risk ratings, which it says cover more than 3,800 solutions spanning multiple categories.
Looking ahead, the startup sees an opportunity to expand its business to yet more areas. With its latest funding, Chainalysis will build new services to will help financial firms analyze cryptocurrency activity for insights into customer behavior and market trends. Chainalysis Chief Executive Officer Michael Gronager noted today that the startup has “collected more information about what happens on blockchains than anyone in the cryptocurrency industry.”
The startup currently gathers data about transactions across more than 100 digital assets on 10 different blockchains. Its customer base is similarly expansive: Chainalysis’ information is used by government agencies in more than 30 countries and private sector businesses in more than 60, the startup says.
To support its plans to build new data services, Chainalysis will hire several hundred additional employees by year’s end. The startup’s headcount was already been growing at a brisk pace before the new $100 million round: Over the last year, Chainalysis has expanded its workforce with more than 100 new hires.
Chainalysis is kicking off its latest growth push in a time when cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are continuing to draw strong investor interest. In parallel, financial firms are introducing more cryptocurrency services for clients, while blockchain technology is being applied to a growing range of new use cases beyond processing transactions.
Photo: Unsplash
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