Wells Fargo and SoftBank Participates in Crypto Analytics Firm Elliptic’s $60M Funding Round

Elliptic, a cryptocurrency analytics firm, announced on Monday that it had raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners. Other investors included SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, AlbionVC, Japan’s SBI Group, Octopus Ventures, SignalFire, and Paladin Capital Group, along with the largest digital asset manager, Grayscale’s parent company Digital Currency Group. Evolution Equity Partners founder Richard Seewald will join the board of directors of Elliptic, which was founded in 2013. The London-based company that helps track transactions on blockchain had raised $100 million just four months back at a valuation of $4.2 billion. The fresh capital will be used to invest in a global network and team along with continuing research and development, said the company. Besides crypto companies, Elliptic's clients include government agencies along with traditional financial firms and fintech. "This fundraising round is an endorsement of the opportunity for cryptoassets in the financial industry," said CEO Simone Maini. As the cryptocurrency industry gains regulatory scrutiny and, as a result, companies strive to comply with anti-money laundering laws (AML), blockchain analysis companies are gaining traction. Just last month, payments giant Mastercard signed a deal to buy CipherTrace for an undisclosed amount. Before that, in March, Chainalysis raised $100 million in a Series D round at a $2 billion valuation. “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.