Mastercard acquires crypto intelligence startup CipherTrace
Payments giant Mastercard has recently acquired CipherTrace, US-based blockchain analytics and cryptocurrency intelligence company according to an announcement made on Thursday.
The two companies announced the acquisition on September 9. Although financial details have not been disclosed, Mastercard has acquired the technology to analyze transaction data of about 900 types of crypto assets by acquiring CipherTrace.
Since its launch in 2015, CipherTrace has developed various services to prevent financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing to some of the largest banks, exchanges, and other financial institutions in the world.
In addition to Cipher Trace, New York-based Chainalysis and Elliptic in the United Kingdom are also expanding their businesses as representative companies that analyze transaction data of crypto assets.
“Our two companies share this vision to provide security and trust throughout the ecosystem,” said Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, in a statement.
CipherTrace raised $ 27 million this year in a financial round led by Daniel Loeb’s Third Point Ventures. Chainalysis, on the other hand, also raised $100 million this year, taking its corporate valuation to over $4.2 billion.
In a press release issued by the company, Ajay Bhalla, president, Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard, said:
“Digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce, from everyday acts like paying and getting paid to transforming economies, making them more inclusive and efficient. With the rapid growth of the digital asset, ecosystem comes the need to ensure it is trusted and safe. Our aim is to build upon the complementary capabilities of Mastercard and CipherTrace to do just this.”
In February, Mastercard revealed its plans to let merchants accept crypto through its network by year’s end. At the time, Mastercard’s crypto VP, Raj Dhamodharan, said in a statement that the company does not encourage customers to use crypto assets. However, they will enable customers and merchants to move to digital value.
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