Blockchain Analytics Firm Elliptic Raises $60M to Fund R&D, Expansion

Elliptic, which helps track transactions on blockchains, has raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners.

• The London-based company will use the money for research and development (R&D) and international growth. The funding will also help with expansion of Elliptic’s team, especially in the U.S.
• Elliptic said participating investors included SoftBank Vision Fund 2, AlbionVC, Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, SBI Group, Octopus Ventures, SignalFire and Paladin Capital Group. CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group.
• The fundraising underlines the mounting interest in the transaction-analysis industry as companies strive to comply with anti-money laundering rules (AML) and track the proceeds from successful hacks. Last month, payments giant Mastercard agreed to buy CipherTrace for an undisclosed amount. In March, Chainalysis, a peer whose client base includes government investigators, was valued at $2 billion in a Series D fundraising, a figure that jumped to $4.2 billion in a Series E round in June.
• “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.
• Elliptic, which was founded in 2013, also said Richard Seewald, the founder and managing partner at Evolution Equity Partners, will join its board of directors.

Read more: Elliptic Is Mapping Bitcoin Stolen From 2016 Bitfinex Hack

UPDATE (OCT 12, 07:43 UTC): Adds Chainalysis June fundraising in third bullet point.