UK -founded blockchain analytics firm Elliptic announced a $60 million Series C funding co-led by Evolution Equity Partners and Softbank Vision Fund 2. It had raised $40 million before today’s funding, according to Crunchbase. Other investors include AlbionVC, Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, SBI Group, Octopus Ventures, SignalFire and Paladin Capital Group also participated.
In June, Elliptic announced that Santander was piloting Elliptic’s Discovery solution. This helped it understand its indirect exposure to cryptocurrencies by analyzing transactions between bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges. Santander Innoventures first invested in Elliptic in 2016, although the bank’s venture arm has since been spun out.
“At Elliptic, we help financial institutions, from crypto exchanges to the world’s leading banks, embrace cryptoassets more safely,” said Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic. “This fundraising round is an endorsement of the opportunity for cryptoassets in the financial industry – and our absolutely critical role in the ecosystem.”
The company plans to use the investment to fund research and development for its compliance, investigations and blockchain forensics tools. And to expand its team.
Elliptic says that two thirds of cryptocurrency volumes worldwide is transacted on exchanges that use its solutions.
“The unique nature of crypto as a maturing asset class means there is a growing need for enterprise-grade compliance and transaction monitoring tools,” said Neil Cunha-Gomes, investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers.
As cryptocurrencies edge towards becoming more compliant and with tighter regulation on the horizon, blockchain analysis is a booming sector.
The market leader with numerous government contracts is perceived as Chainalysis, which raised $100 million at a $4.2 billion valuation in June. TRM Labs raised $14 million in the same month. Another competitor, Ciphertrace, was acquired by Mastercard last month.
