Crypto Startup Elliptic Raises $23 Million From Softbank Subsidiary

UK based Elliptic recently closed a $23M Series B to step up growth for a crypto risk-management play which institutes of selling tech and services to help others in need of help with cryptos. The round was led by financial services and asset management firm SBI Group of SoftBank. Other investors were London-based AlbionVC. Existing investors including SignalFire, Octopus Ventures and Santander Innoventures also participated.

Elliptic makes cryptocurrency transaction activity more transparent and accountable. They believe that illicit activity in cryptocurrencies must be disrupted to stop criminals from undermining the ideals on which cryptocurrencies are built. This is their focus, and they do this by solving the crucial problem of identity in cryptocurrencies, with the sole purpose of combating suspicious and criminal activity.

Dr James Smith, Co-founder and CEO of Elliptic, says:

“We believe it no longer makes sense to think of a divide between the crypto economy and the wider financial system. Crypto-assets represent new opportunities for financial institutions, and as they move towards addressing these, we are here to support them.”

The company is preventing, detecting, and pursuing criminal activity in cryptocurrencies. It identifies illicit activity in cryptocurrencies, providing actionable intelligence to cryptocurrency companies, financial institutions and government agencies.

Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of the SBI Group, added:

“We believe that crypto-assets will play an increasingly important role in our everyday lives and are shaping the future of banking. Our investment in Elliptic is a further commitment to this belief and to SBI Holding’s appetite to help build the digital asset-related ecosystem.”

Elliptic said its revenues from Asia-based clients have increased 11x over the past two years. According to Crunchbase, Elliptic has raised $12 million to date. The new Series B brings the total funding to $35 million.