Elliptic, a cryptocurrency researcher, announced on Monday that it had raised $60 million in funding from investors including SoftBank and Wells Fargo’s venture capital arm, as more mainstream investors bet on the blockchain analytics sector.
Blockchain analysis firms are in high demand as larger investors warm to crypto and other digital assets, and regulatory scrutiny on a sector riddled with compliance difficulties ranging from hacking to the unlawful usage of digital tokens grows.
Mastercard paid an undisclosed fee for US researcher CipherTrace last month to assist businesses manage risks and comply with regulations in the fast-growing crypto sector.
In June, Chainalysis, a blockchain data platform based in the United States, said that it had secured $100 million at a valuation of $4.2 billion in order to expand its coverage of crypto assets.
London-based Evolution Equity led the Series C investment, with SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital investing for the first time, according to Elliptic. Elliptic stated in a statement that other investors include Japan’s SBI Group, without specifying its valuation.
SoftBank’s investment in the crypto area was its most recent. It led a $680 million fundraising round for blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare earlier this month, as well as a $155 million round for blockchain startup Blockdaemon.
In July, the Japanese company also made a $200 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s largest bitcoin exchanges.
Elliptic CEO Simone Maini told, “What we’re doing is just incredibly crucial to the growth of the crypto ecosystem and mainstream adoption.”
“Without really robust basic insights and tooling that can help facilitate financial crime, protection and risk management, it’s really hard for these businesses to be able to embrace the opportunity.”
Elliptic, which was founded in 2013, monitors the movement of cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, the technology that underpins them, in order to assist with financial crime compliance.
It wants to invest in its global network and personnel, as well as research and development, according to the company.
Traditional financial businesses, fintech and crypto enterprises, as well as government authorities, are among Elliptic’s clientele. According to the company, two-thirds of global crypto volume passes through exchanges that use its software.
