The blockchain-analytics company Chainalysis announced the acquisition of Excygent, a firm that provides government agencies with services related to cybercrime investigations and data processing.
We are thrilled to announce that Chainalysis has acquired Excygent, a specialized professional services firm that assists government agencies with cybercrime investigations, data processing, and lead generation. https://t.co/1J7hCmLrM1
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) October 5, 2021
The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
According to a press release, Chainalysis has worked with Excygent on several high-profile investigations, including those related to the now-defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road and a cascade of breaches of verified Twitter accounts in 2020.
Excygent staff will join Chainalysis’s investigations team that analyzes on-chain data for government agencies. In particular, they will help track payments to ransomware operators.
“Tracking ransomware payments flows on the blockchain allows law enforcement to identify and dismantle ransomware operators. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, the criminals’ choice to use cryptocurrency when committing crimes can make the job easier for investigators,” said Chainalysis head Michael Gronager in a conversation with Cointelegraph.
This is the company’s first acquisition after its Series E funding round, during which it was valued at $4.2 billion.
Earlier in September, disclosed some tools used by Chainalysis to collect information about cryptocurrency transactions and users.