Crypto Transaction Monitoring and Forensics Platform Raises $60 Billion
Amex, Visa, Citi, DRW Venture Capital, Jump Capital, Marshall Wace, Block (ex-Square), and Paypal are part of a group of investors in the latest funding round of crypto transaction monitoring and forensics platform TRM.
On Tuesday, 7 December, a crypto transaction monitoring and forensics platform TRM announced a Series B investment round from major financial institutions.
The company has raised a total $60 billion from leading financial institutions, including American Express’ Amex Ventures, Visa, Citi Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, Jump Capital, Marshall Wace, Block (formerly Square Inc.), and Paypal Ventures.
The funding round led by Tiger Global, included investments from 50 of the world’s leading operators including Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi.
TRM’s Co-Founder and CEO, Esteban Castaño, said:
“Crypto is moving faster than any sector in our lifetimes. Organizations need a blockchain intelligence partner that can stay ahead of the evolving risk landscape — from ransomware attacks to DeFi (decentralized finance) exploits.”
TRM detailed in the announcement:
“In support of our mission to build a safer financial system for billions of people, we developed the first blockchain intelligence platform that combines cross-chain data with threat intelligence, advanced analytics, and intuitive visualizations to help organizations detect crypto fraud and financial crime.”
Some crypto businesses — such as Circle, FTX US, and MoonPay — use TRM Transaction Monitoring to detect suspicious activity and meet anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory requirements, the company said, adding:
“Government agencies use TRM Forensics to investigate sophisticated crypto-related crime including scams, hacks, and terrorist financing.”
The TRM has hired threat finance experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Secret Service, and Europol, and also includes data scientists from companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google.
TRM also started its first big federal contracts in the second half of 2021, and signed a million-dollar deal with the IRS in September, months after taking the FBI on as a client for its web-based software.
Market leader Chainalysis raised a $100 million Series E in June. CipherTrace raised $27 million in June before being acquired by Mastercard in September. Elliptic raised $60 million in October.
All four help banks and law enforcement track illicit funds moving across public blockchains. TRM’s claimed advantage is breadth; it says it covers more cryptos than any of its competitors.
