Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has completed a $30 million Series B round led by American VC firm Accel and Benchmark, who led the startup's Series A funding in April 2018. Accel partner Philippe Botteri will also join the firm’s board of directors.The fund injection will be used to expand the startup's operations including its Chainalysis Know-Your-Transaction (KYT) tool which allows more than 100 crypto exchanges and financial institutions to vet their clients.The analytics firm known for investigating the Mt. Gox case will open a new office in London, its second office in Europe, which will serve as a base devoted to research and development.Chainalysis provides bitcoin transaction analysis to crypto exchanges, law enforcement agencies and other private clients to help them identify illicit transactions on the blockchain. Per a Diar report, Chainalysis was singled out as the preferred blockchain forensics contractor for the U.S. government, receiving $5.3 million from government agencies.The New York-based startup was founded in 2014, and it has now raised $47.6 million, suggesting that investors are still investing in crypto businesses despite the slump in prices.Speaking with Fortune, Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager said the company's target audience had seen a gradual shift from what it was a year ago. According to Gronager, the company made the bulk of its money from law enforcement agencies — ap...
