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Chainalysis

Overview

Chainalysis supplies blockchain data, software, research and services to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions and cybersecurity companies. Its work covers investigations, compliance and market intelligence.⁠[1]

Contents22 sections
Key facts

Founding

Early funding and compliance

On February 12, 2019, Chainalysis announced a $30 million Series B led by Accel, following a $16 million Series A announced in 2018. It was expanding KYT’s multicurrency coverage and its London operations.⁠[3]

Welcome to Video investigation

Series C

On November 23, 2020, Chainalysis announced a $100 million Series C led by Addition at a valuation above $1 billion. It had opened offices in Singapore and Tokyo and planned further international expansion.⁠[5]

Series D

Series E

Excygent acquisition

On October 5, 2021, Chainalysis announced its acquisition of Excygent, a professional-services firm supporting government cybercrime investigations, data processing and lead generation. The team joined its Investigations and Special Programs business after earlier joint work on law-enforcement cases.⁠[8]

Series F

Transpose acquisition

On May 30, 2023, Chainalysis announced its acquisition of blockchain data and infrastructure company Transpose, strengthening access to historical and real-time on-chain data through APIs. Applications included wallets, financial analysis, tax and compliance services.⁠[10]

Layoffs and business changes

In October 2023, Chainalysis cut approximately 150 jobs, mainly in marketing and business development serving private-sector customers. In its second round of cuts that year, the company emphasized profitability and a greater focus on government business.⁠[11]

Jonathan Levin becomes CEO

The board appointed Jonathan Levin CEO on December 3, 2024, replacing Michael Gronager, who also left the company and board. The December 5 announcement additionally named Paul Auvil to the board as audit committee chair.⁠[12]

Hexagate acquisition

On December 18, 2024, Chainalysis announced its acquisition of Hexagate, expanding from investigations into threat prevention. Hexagate uses machine learning to identify unusual on-chain patterns and transactions, with tools for real-time monitoring, mitigation, forensics and compliance.⁠[13]

Alterya acquisition

On January 13, 2025, Chainalysis announced its acquisition of AI fraud-detection company Alterya. Its systems combine cryptocurrency and fiat-payment information to identify scam recipients and provide preventive tools for exchanges, banks and other customers.⁠[14]

Reactor evidence ruling

On September 25, 2026, the D.C. Circuit affirmed Sterlingov’s convictions. Despite challenges concerning Reactor’s lack of peer review and a known error rate, the court found no abuse of discretion in admitting expert testimony, considering corroboration and other factors.⁠[15]

October–November 2026: Security incident and suspension

On October 30, Chainalysis disclosed access to user details including names and emails, saying it found no evidence of compromised investigation content or credentials. On November 2, it suspended Reactor and Data Solutions amid ongoing threats while continuing transaction monitoring.⁠[16]

Mercado Bitcoin response

On November 2, Chainalysis said it helped respond to the Mercado BitcoinMercado BitcoinMercado Bitcoin (MB) is a Brazilian digital-asset platform within the 2TM group, offering cryptocurrency trading, asset tokenization and financial services.Open the full entry attack, coordinating with exchanges and stablecoin issuers to freeze nearly $10 million.⁠[17]

AI: Chain beta

As of November 2026, Chain’s product page described a beta blockchain-intelligence agent that generates investigation graphs, reports and dashboards and turns workflows into repeatable code. The page offered access requests for Data Solutions customers.⁠[18]

Investigations: Reactor

Reactor combines blockchain transactions with real-world entity labels and visualizes fund flows as graphs. Investigators can add off-chain information, annotations and supporting evidence, or escalate KYT risk alerts into deeper analysis.⁠[19]

Compliance: KYT

KYT, short for Know-Your-Transaction, monitors incoming and outgoing transfers and generates alerts under configurable risk rules. Customers can adjust thresholds, maintain address lists and custom groups, and manage alerts through APIs and case-management workflows.⁠[20]

Research: Limits of on-chain risk indicators

Chainalysis publishes crypto-crime research and screens on-chain patterns for suspicious activity. Its 2024 pump-and-dump study treated flagged patterns as investigative leads, requiring off-chain evidence and context before concluding that conduct was criminal.⁠[21]

Sources

  1. Company - Chainalysis (opens in a new window)
  2. Report: Chainalysis Business Breakdown & Founding Story | Contrary Research (opens in a new window)
  3. Announcing Our Series B (opens in a new window)
  4. Chainalysis in Action: DOJ Announces Shutdown of Largest Child Pornography Website (opens in a new window)
  5. Announcing Our Series C (opens in a new window)
  6. Announcing Our Series D (opens in a new window)
  7. Announcing Our Series E (opens in a new window)
  8. Welcoming Excygent to Chainalysis (opens in a new window)
  9. Chainalysis Doubles Private Sector Business and Raises New Funding to Double Its Valuation to $8.6 Billion (opens in a new window)
  10. Welcoming Transpose to Chainalysis (opens in a new window)
  11. Chainalysis Idling 150 Employees As Chill Of Crypto Winter Persists (opens in a new window)
  12. Chainalysis Appoints Jonathan Levin as CEO (opens in a new window)
  13. Welcoming Hexagate to Chainalysis and Investing in Prevention (opens in a new window)
  14. Welcoming Fraud Detection Innovator Alterya to Chainalysis and Doubling Down on the Prevention of Illicit Activity (opens in a new window)
  15. USA v. Sterlingov, No. 24-3161 (D.C. Cir. 2026) (opens in a new window)
  16. Updated Nov 2: Chainalysis Security Incident Information (opens in a new window)
  17. Disrupting the Mercado Bitcoin Attack: How Chainalysis Led the Freeze of Nearly $10M in Stolen Funds (opens in a new window)
  18. Chainalysis agents: AI for blockchain intelligence (opens in a new window)
  19. Reactor Crypto & Blockchain Investigations - Chainalysis (opens in a new window)
  20. KYT Crypto Transaction Monitoring - Chainalysis (opens in a new window)
  21. 54% of ERC-20 Tokens Listed on DEXes in 2023 Display Patterns That May Be Suggestive of Pump and Dump Schemes, but Represent just 1.3% of DEX Trading Volume (opens in a new window)