Chainalysis hits $1BN valuation after $100M funding boost

November 24, 2020
By Sam Grant

Blockchain analytics and forensics firm is now a $1 billion blockchain company after confirming a $100 million funding

In its third round of funding since its launch in 2014, Chainalysis raised $100 million in investments. Thanks to this funding, the forensics firm  has now added a $1 billion valuation. The latest series C round was spearheaded by Lee Fixel’s investment firm Addition.

Fixel has previously worked with Tiger Global Management, an investment firm he joined back in 2006.  During his 13-year stint with the New York firm, he rose through the ranks to become partner and head of the private equity business. He resigned from the firm in 2019 and started his venture capital firm, Addition early this year.

Other investors that were involved in the round include Accel, Benchmark and Ribbit. Chainalysis’ co-founder and chief executive Michael Gronager expressed enthusiasm following the completion of the round.

Gronager asserted that the funds will be redirected to help with the company’s scaling up plans. He added that the investment would benefit its investors, more so Addition, which contributed most. This round of funding could drive Chainalysis to unicorn status. The unicorn status has been a collector’s item in the crypto space with only a handful of crypto companies having realised valuation exceeding $1 billion. No crypto firm in the crypto tracing niche has achieved this status before.

Chainalsyis is well-positioned to set this record as it has contracts with many private and government agencies looking to see what happens in the blockchain.

“Government agencies and the private sector need the right data, tools, and insights to responsibly oversee and participate in the cryptocurrency economy. We have established a network of government agencies in over 30 countries and more than 250 of the most important businesses around the world. Our partners, at Addition, understand the power of our platform and are a natural partner for this next phase of growth,” Gronager said.

Chainalysis has grown to become a popular analytics firm in the crypto sector owing to its efficiency in monitoring blockchain transactions and delivering crucial insight in the crypto space. The firm recently won a $625,000 IRS contract to develop a tool that will help the IRS crack Monero transactions.