Crypto Sleuthing Firm Chainalysis Raises $100M, This Time at $4.2B Valuation

Chainalysis has added another $100 million in venture capital as crypto's role in ransomware becomes a mainstream concern.

The firm announced Thursday that the Series E round of funding was led by Coatue Management and brings it valuation to $4.2 billion. Chainalysis also raised $100 million in a Series D funding round that was announced in March.

March's round, led by Fred Ehrsam's Paradigm, valued the blockchain tracking firm at $2 billion.

The Chainalysis' new funding round is the latest in a trio of funding announcements in what's suddenly a high-profile corner of the crypto world.

Firms like Chainalysis, CipherTrace, Elliptic, TRM Labs and Blocktrace help banks and law enforcement track illicit funds moving across public blockchains. Thanks to this so-called blockchain analysis, U.S. authorities were able to seize much of the bitcoin paid by Colonial Pipeline as ransom to the DarkSide hacking group.

Such headlines have been a boon for recent fundraising efforts.

CipherTrace raised $27 million, CoinDesk reported Tuesday, and TRM Labs brought in $14 million last week.

Chainalysis may be the leader of the pack in terms of stature, and certainly it is in terms of capital raised: The firm said the latest round brings its total funding to $365 million.

"The future of finance and national security will be based on blockchain data-driven decisions," Chainalysis CEO and co-founder Michael Gronager said in the press release. "We've harnessed the transparency of blockchains to provide actionable insights into markets, threats and business opportunities."

Chainalysis is hiring for "hundreds of new positions," according to Thursday's announcement.