Elliptic secures $60 million Series C funding led by SoftBank
Blockchain forensics startup Elliptic said it had raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by high-profile investors, the latest sign of how major banks are warming to cryptocurrencies.
The fresh capital injection was led by Evolution Equity Partners with participation from SoftBank’s VC arm. It also saw participation from existing investors such as Wells Fargo, SBI Group, Octopus Ventures, SignalFire, and Paladin Capital Group.
The new investment, which brings the company’s total funding to over $100 million, will fuel Elliptic’s continuing expansion into Asia and elsewhere. The funding will also be used to accelerate product development to support an emerging class of asset-backed crypto-assets.
“The unique nature of crypto as a maturing asset class means there is a growing need for enterprise-grade compliance and transaction monitoring tools. Elliptic was an early mover in this space and its customizable platform is trusted by financial institutions of all sizes. We are pleased to support Simone and the Elliptic team in their mission to enable safe crypto adoption globally,” said SoftBank investment advisor Neil Cunha-Gomes.
This is Softbank’s latest investment in the cryptocurrency space. However, it made its biggest splash last month when it invested $200 million in cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin. The figure valued the Brazilian exchange, which claims a 2.8 million client base, at $2.1 billion.
Softbank also participated in the $26 million funding of Brazil’s Hashdex, but it did not lead the round. Additionally, the bank is eyeing the security token industry, having joined the Japan Security Token Association as a member in January.
Elliptic’s flagship product helps banks to assess hundreds of crypto exchanges operating worldwide. Called ‘Elliptic Discovery,’ this solution is purpose-built for banks to enable them to identify crypto exchanges that are complying with strict regulatory standards. Discovery boasts a database of hundreds of exchanges, collected since 2013, including their owners, jurisdiction, regulatory status, and compliance policies.
“What we’re doing is just really fundamental 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 CEO Simone Maini told Reuters.
Elliptic had secured decent funding from major financial institutions over the last two years. Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank in the world, and Tokyo-based SBI Group led Elliptic’s Series B funding rounds in 2019 and 2020.
The London-based firm’s new investment is the latest sign of how major corporations are showing increased interest in the crypto data industry. It comes barely one month after Mastercard acquired blockchain analytics start-up CipherTrace for an undisclosed amount.
Their major competitor, New York-based Chainalysis, also closed a $100 million financing round in June, doubling its valuation to over $4.2 billion.
