Crypto analytics firm Chainalysis announced Thursday that it has raised $170 million in a funding round that values the blockchain analytics software developer at $8.6 billion.
GIC led the Series F; Accel, Blackstone, Dragoneer, Bank of New York Mellon and others also participated, according to a press release. Chainalysis had already received $100 million at half its current valuation in June 2021.
As more digital asset hacks, scams and ransomware attacks make headlines around the world, demand for investigative crypto tools is exploding. Chainalysis said its various tools monitor $1 trillion worth of transactions each month. It helps governments and private companies track illicit crypto flows over transparent public blockchains.
The giant software-as-a-service company said its customer base has grown 75% to a total of 750. The number of large customers with accounts worth more than $100,000 has also increased (a single premium seat can cost tens of thousands of dollars).
But companies and governments around the world are willing to pay for it. Chainalysis now has a presence in 70 countries and intends to invest in regions outside the United States.
"Global expansion is one of the drivers here," CEO Michael Gronager said in an interview. He said Chainalysis is "steadily doubling" its operations in Europe, Asia Pacific and South America - a particular growth region.
That compares with an increase in "more use cases for crypto" (think NFTs and decentralized financial exchanges) that customers need to monitor, tag, profile and track. "We are constantly developing new products" to keep up, Gronager said.
The Chainalysis team now consists of 700 employees, more than half of whom have joined in the past year. Chainalysis is working hard to hire C-suite officials from well-known companies in public policy and market structure.
All this for a company whose short-term fate is not quite as dependent on token prices. Criminals will continue to commit crimes whether markets rise or fall. And governments and companies will pay to get ahead of them.
Gronager said he's not worried about the market turmoil this week. In the coming quiet sideways markets, stablecoins, NFTs and Layer 2s will be built, he said. "There are a lot of smart things to develop," he said.
And as they emerge, they will introduce new crypto vectors to profile and track.