Legal and IP News Technology Media Telecoms

Amex, Visa, Citi back $60m funding for TRM Labs blockchain intelligence

blockchain analysis forensics

TRM Labs, the blockchain intelligence firm that targets cryptocurrency fraud and financial crime has raised an $60 million Series B round led by Tiger Global. Its backers include a who’s who of payment firms such as Amex Ventures, Visa, Citi Ventures, Block (formerly Square) and PayPal Ventures, amongst others.

In June, the company closed a $14 million Series A round that included investment from PayPal Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, and it now has a team of 60 people.

The notable absentee amongst the payments firms is Mastercard which acquired competitor Ciphertrace in September. In a sign of the sector’s popularity, Mastercard completed that deal within less than six weeks of the announcement.

TRM Labs uses transaction monitoring and forensic analysis across more than a dozen different public blockchains. Clients include stablecoin firm Circle, FTX US, MoonPay, Anchorage and cryptocurrency exchange Binance. It also provides government agencies with its TRM Forensics solution.

​”In all of Visa’s undertakings, in digital currency and beyond, we are committed to advancing responsible innovations that maintain the trust and security of the global payments ecosystem,” said Terry Angelos, global head of crypto and fintech at Visa. “To that end, enhancing trust and security in the crypto ecosystem through sophisticated risk assessment is key to the future of crypto, and we see TRM as a leader in the space.”

Competitor Chainalysis raised a $100 million Series D at a $4.2 billion valuation in June, bringing total funds raised to $365 million. Another player in the sector is UK-headquartered Elliptic which in October secured a $60 million Series C co-led by Softbank and Evolution Equity Partners.


Image Copyright: peshkov / BigStock Photo