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Elliptic, a crypto analytics firm, raises $60 million in funding from SoftBank.

LONDON, United Kingdom – As more mainstream investors bet on the blockchain analytics sector, Elliptic, a cryptocurrency researcher, announced on Monday that it had raised $60 million in funding from investors including SoftBank and Wells Fargo's venture capital arm.

Blockchain analysis firms are in high demand, with regulatory scrutiny intensifying on a sector beset with compliance difficulties ranging from hacking to the unlawful usage of digital tokens, while larger investors warm to crypto and other digital assets.

Mastercard paid an undisclosed sum for U.S. researcher CipherTrace last month to help firms manage risks and comply with regulations in the rapidly growing crypto sector.

In June, Chainalysis, a blockchain data platform based in the United States, said that it had secured $100 million at a valuation of $4.2 billion in order to expand its coverage of crypto assets.

London-based Evolution Equity led the Series C investment, with SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital investing for the first time, according to Elliptic. Elliptic stated in a statement that other investors include Japan's SBI Group, without specifying its valuation.

SoftBank's investment in the crypto area was its most recent. It led a $680 million fundraising round for blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare earlier this month, as well as a $155 million round for blockchain startup Blockdaemon.

In July, the Japanese company also made a $200 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America's largest bitcoin exchanges.

Elliptic CEO Simone Maini told Reuters, "What we're doing is just incredibly crucial to the growth of the crypto ecosystem and mainstream adoption."

"It's incredibly difficult for these organisations to grasp the opportunity without really robust core insights and tooling that can help facilitate financial crime, protection, and risk management."

Elliptic, which was founded in 2013, monitors the movement of cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, the technology that underpins them, in order to assist with financial crime compliance.

It wants to invest in its global network and personnel, as well as research and development, according to the company.

Traditional financial firms, fintech and crypto enterprises, as well as government authorities, are among Elliptic's clientele. Two-thirds of global crypto volume passes through exchanges that use its software, it said.