JPMorgan Chase invests in crypto forensics startup Elliptic
Multinational investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co has joined the Series C funding round for Blockchain forensics startup Elliptic, the latest sign of how major banks are warming to cryptocurrencies.
Elliptic initially raised $60 million in the latest growth funding round led by high-profile investors. The fresh capital injection saw participation form Evolution Equity Partners and SoftBank’s VC arm. Existing investors such as Wells Fargo, SBI Group, Octopus Ventures, SignalFire, and Paladin Capital Group also joined the financing round.
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.
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.
JPMorgan Chase already gives its wealthy clients access to six cryptocurrency investment funds. However, it was not the only financial institution exploring the potential of cryptocurrency as part of its efforts to modernize their legacy investment vehicles.
Chainalysis doubled valuation to $8.6 billion
Simone Maini, Elliptic CEO, said: “As an asset class, crypto has grown by more than 10x over the last five years and is now worth more than $1 trillion. A potential further 10x of growth lies ahead — and will be driven by businesses keen to shape the future of finance. We are focused on enabling the opportunity to help organizations unlock the true value of crypto.
He added: “As more established financial institutions move into the sector, these companies need to understand when they can let transactions run — and when they should intervene. Stopping financial crime is not just a regulatory requirement but an ethical one, and a safe ecosystem is a healthy ecosystem.”
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. Their major competitor, New York-based Chainalysis, also closed a $170 million financing round in March, doubling its valuation to over $8.6 billion.
