The company became one of the first crypto analytics unicorns in 2020.
Cryptocurrency analysis company Chainalysis tweeted on March 26 that it had been valued at $2+ billion in a recent funding round. The company raised $100 million in Series D funding. New investors included TIME Ventures, which is owned by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Previous investors returning for the new round were Ribbit Capital and Addition. The cryptocurrency asset investment company Paradigm led the investment round.
We're excited to announce that we've raised a $100M Series D at a $2B+ valuation to fuel our continued growth! @Paradigm led the round, with participation from TIME Ventures, investment firm of @Benioff, and previous investors Addition and @RibbitCapital. https://t.co/8JEQ0jhtAa pic.twitter.com/zNieAmJmcD
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) March 26, 2021
Chainalysis reached the billion dollar valuation mark in November. It underwent a Series C investment round at that time.
What is Chainalysis?
Chainalysis hit the market in 2014. It works with governments and private industry to detect, analyze and prevent the misuse of cryptocurrenices. This includes money laundering and fraud issues. Chainalysis became famous in 2020 for its role in finding almost 70,000 Bitcoin connected to the Silk Road darknet market. The company worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury and the company’s UK competitor Excygent on the project.
The need for the services that Chainalyis provides is growing. The company’s client count is rising rapidly. In the second half of 2020, the total number rose from 295 to 350. Many of these are government agencies from around the world.
We Need a Chainalysis Signal
Chainalyis provides services that face growing demand. The company’s onboards new clients regularly. In the second half of 2020, the total number rose from 295 to 350. Many of these are government agencies from around the world.
Chainalysis and companies like it are already an essential part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Cryptocurrency hacks and theft are becoming increasingly common. A look at recent news is all that is needed to confirm this.
Mar. 16 saw the news of a hack on Nifty Gateway. This hack, perhaps one of the first NFT art robberies, drew attention for being unique. Initial reports point to lax security on the Nifty platform. As a result, thousands of dollars in NFTs were stolen. Each piece of NFT artwork has its own unique ID, so reselling the items may be difficult.
Over the same weekend, Roll’s social token pools had about 2600 ETH pulled out of them in a hack. In this case, the attack came via minting a stack of social tokens, then selling them at a discount to unsuspecting people looking for a deal.
Not all attacks and hacks need the sophisticated analysis that Chainalysis provides. However, the presence of companies providing post-hack and “odd movement” analysis is not deterring black hats from operating. Perhaps if there were a Chainalysis Signal, like a Bat Signal, that could shine when a major partner needs help, they would get the idea.
