Chainalysis might not be the richest or most famous name in crypto, but when it comes to understanding how and why people use digital currencies, it’s in a league of its own.
And under newly minted CEO and co-founder Jonathan Levin, the company is doubling down on its zeal to be the crypto industry’s ultimate crime-fighting force.
With more than 100 staff analyzing blockchain networks, Chainalysis tracks more than a billion wallet addresses and screens over $11 trillion in economic activity.
This data-driven approach has made it a critical player in more than 100 countries. It’s spotlighting crypto adoption trends in emerging markets like India, Indonesia and the UAE.
“Chainalysis is the company that knows the most about how and why people use cryptocurrencies,” Levin claims.
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Big vision, bigger threats
He sees mounting risks for the crypto ecosystem, from North Korean hacks to an expected surge in US crypto funding following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Levin and Chainalysis are reacting to this with the goal of transforming from an analytics and compliance provider to a full-blown blockchain security watchdog.
To that end, the company has made two bold acquisitions in Israel: Alterya, an AI fraud-detection firm, and Hexagate, a Web3 security startup specializing in real-time threat mitigation.
These moves — executed within weeks of Levin’s taking over as CEO from co-founder Michael Gronager late last year — signal an aggressive pivot.
Alterya flagged $10 billion in scam-related transactions last year, while Hexagate claims to have detected 98% of known hacks over the past two years, often before they happened.
Together, they saved more than $1 billion in customer funds.
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A broader mandate
Chainalysis’ new vision focuses on preventing harm rather than just investigating it.
With Bitcoin prices rising and FOMO gripping the market, Levin says he wants to build safeguards that make crypto safer for everyone.
“We’re broadening our platform to stop harm before it happens,” he says, positioning the company as the blockchain industry’s for-hire watchdog.
Chainalysis isn’t without rivals. TRM Labs, a younger blockchain analytics firm, is one of them.
They are different when it comes to scale and size. Chainalysis employs about 1,000 staff and was last valued at $8.6 billion, compared to TRM Labs’ valuation of $600 million and staff size of about 260.
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But TRM Lab monitors 30 blockchains compared to Chainalysis’ 25.
That being said, with a rep for aiding law enforcement agencies globally, ranging from the IRS to Israeli counterterrorism outfits, Chainalysis is perhaps uniquely poised to lead the charge rather than follow others.
Even when the FBI needs assistance, Chainalysis steps in to help.
Levin’s rapid moves signal a company ready to evolve — and take on the increasingly complex challenges of the crypto world. As he puts it: crypto’s locks need to be secured now more than ever.
Edited by Ankush Chibber. If you have any tips, ideas or feedback, please get in touch: talk-to-us@moniify.com
