Bitcoin sleuthing start-up Chainalysis doubles valuation to $2 billion with Benioff backing

Bitcoin sleuthing start-up Chainalysis doubles valuation to $2 billion with Benioff backing

Chainalysis, a start-up that sells blockchain data analytics tools, announced Friday that it's raised $100 million in an investment round valuing the company at $2 billion.That's double what Chainalysis was worth just four months ago. The round was led by crypto-focused venture capital firm Paradigm, with additional backing from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who invested through his investment fund Time Ventures. Existing shareholders Addition and Ribbit increased their holdings, Chainalysis said.Unlike some in Silicon Valley, Benioff hasn't been that vocal about bitcoin. However, Time Magazine “” which the billionaire bought last year “” recently posted a job listing for a chief financial officer who is "comfortable with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies." Benioff declined to comment on his views about bitcoin when asked by CNBC.

What is Chainalysis?

Chainalysis, Elliptic and CipherTrace aim to legitimize the cryptocurrency market, which has been fraught with high-profile hacks and other illicit activities. Last year, Chainalysis helped track down $1 billion worth of bitcoin linked to the darknet marketplace Silk Road, which was then seized by the U.S government.Michael Gronager, Chainalysis' CEO and co-founder, told CNBC that the company's latest financing round came at a time of heightened momentum for cryptocurrencies, with institutional investors and companies like