Nasdaq Ventures, Deutsche Bank back Elliptic in $120M funding round

Blockchain analytics company Elliptic raised $120 million in a Series D funding round backed by investors including Nasdaq Ventures, Deutsche Bank and the British Business Bank, as stablecoins and tokenized assets see broader institutional adoption.

The funding round, led by One Peak, values Elliptic at $670 million and will be used to expand its AI-driven blockchain analytics and transaction monitoring services for banks, fintech companies, government agencies and crypto firms, according to the announcement.

Elliptic said its platform screens more than 1 billion blockchain transactions per week across more than 65 networks and is used by over 700 customers in 30 countries.

Demand for real-time blockchain monitoring and anti-money laundering (AML) software is growing as stablecoins and tokenized financial assets become more widely used by exchanges, payments companies and financial institutions.

Founded in 2013, Elliptic provides blockchain analytics tools designed to help companies identify illicit activity, comply with anti-money laundering requirements and track onchain financial flows.

Related: Ethereum derivatives unfazed by DeFi hacks: Can ETH hit $2.6K next?

Blockchain analytics companies expand AI compliance tools

Blockchain analytics and anti-money laundering companies have been expanding AI-focused transaction monitoring and compliance software as digital asset activity grows across crypto and traditional finance.

The push toward AI-assisted blockchain monitoring tools comes as researchers and security companies warn that advances in AI are accelerating exploit discovery and crypto-related attack methods across decentralized finance platforms.

In April, crypto-related hacks and exploits exceeded $600 million, marking the industry’s largest monthly loss total in more than a year, according to DeFiLlama data.

Source: DefiLlama

In February, TRM Labs raised $70 million in a Series C funding round valuing the company at $1 billion, with backing from investors including Goldman Sachs, Blockchain Capital and Galaxy Ventures. Similarly to Elliptic, TRM plans use the funding to expand its AI-powered blockchain intelligence and anti-money laundering systems used by financial institutions, crypto companies and law enforcement agencies to detect illicit onchain activity.

In March, Chainalysis announced plans to roll out AI-powered “blockchain intelligence agents” designed to assist with crypto investigations and compliance workflows. The company said the software is intended to automate tasks including tracing funds, identifying suspicious activity and conducting blockchain investigations.

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