Chainalysis acquires AI startup Alterya in $150M deal to strengthen crypto security measures

Chainalysis, a major player in crypto analysis and forensics, has acquired Alterya, an Israeli startup specializing in detecting fraud using AI agents, the company said Monday. The total purchase price was about $150 million, sources familiar with the acquisition told Business Insider.

Alterya, founded in 2022 and backed by $9.8 million in seed funding from Battery Ventures, Y Combinator, NFX, and Nyca, uses AI agents to detect and prevent scams targeting financial institutions, fintech, and crypto service providers.

This investment allows Chainalysis to move beyond reactive investigations and offer proactive fraud prevention. With Alterya’s advanced AI-driven tools, the company could enhance its ability to detect sophisticated scams, especially those adopting generative AI.

“With Alterya, Chainalysis is doubling down on its strategy to invest in the prevention of illicit transactions, following its acquisition last month of the web3 security solution Hexagate,” the company said.

Chainalysis also aims to better address fraud originating from traditional financial systems and track how those funds move into crypto. Monitoring over $8 billion in transactions per month across both the crypto and fiat rails, Alterya is well-positioned to help Chainalysis provide a comprehensive suite of services encompassing prevention, compliance, and remediation of financial crime.

The company has protected 100 million end-users from fraud despite operating largely in stealth mode, according to Chainalysis. Binance, Coinbase, and Square are among its clients.

“Alterya detected $10B sent to scams in 2024, and worked with their customers to proactively prevent fraud, minimize losses, and build customer trust,” Chainalysis added. “Alterya has already helped top crypto exchanges decrease fraud by 60%, reduce scam-related disputes, and improve the efficiency of manual operations.”

Ilan Zimmer, Coinbase’s Director of Payment & Operational Risk, highlighted the effectiveness of Alterya’s technology in identifying wallet addresses tied to known investment scams, stating:

“Alterya has been a reliable partner in helping Coinbase identify wallet addresses tied to known investment scams. This collaboration has enabled us to better protect our customers and safeguard their hard-earned funds from bad actors.”