Gauntlet CEO Tarun Chitra helps defi exchanges handle danger, whereas optimizing profitability.
illustration by stephanie cui for forbes; photograph by gauntlet
Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed 150% in 2023, with half of this development coming within the ultimate months of the yr in anticipation of much-awaited ETFs lastly being allowed to commerce in January. This motion was a part of a broader market surge that noticed the overall market capitalization for cryptocurrencies rise 114% to $1.8 trillion because the business started to choose itself up from a depressing 2022.
With FTX founder and now convicted felon Sam Bankman-Fried awaiting sentencing, and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleading responsible to a number of violations of the Financial institution Secrecy Act and stepping down from his place as CEO, the business is popping the web page. A key focus now could be for accountable stewards to information it by means of elevated regulatory scrutiny and difficult financial situations to construct extra sustainable development.
This consideration is mirrored on this yr’s crop of crypto and blockchain Fintech 50 listers–infrastructure companies Chainalysis, Fireblocks, and Gauntlet–which have respective focuses on regulatory compliance, safety, and the optimization of financial fashions.
Chainalysis
The blockchain forensics agency makes use of on-chain information to hint crypto transactions, figuring out scams, hacks, fraud and illicit exercise involving digital belongings. With greater than 70% of its enterprise now coming from the general public sector, Chainalysis has educated legislation enforcement officers from world wide. In 2023, it partnered with the Inside Income Service’s Felony Investigation Division to coach 70 Ukrainian legislation enforcement officers on blockchain analytics abilities, was utilized by the Israel’s Nationwide Bureau for Counter Terror Planning to establish and seize cryptocurrency from Hezbollah, and partnered with U.S. native legislation enforcement companies to hint funds for unlawful fentanyl gross sales.
Headquarters: New York, New York.
Funding: $535 million from GIC, Paradigm, Accel and others.
Newest valuation: $8.6 billion.
Date of final valuation: Could 2022.
Bona fides: Chainalysis has practically 300 public sector clients in 60 international locations world wide, up from 200 in 50 international locations in 2022.
Cofounders: CEO Michael Gronager, 53, a PhD in quantum mechanics who cofounded cryptocurrency alternate Kraken earlier than leaving in 2015 to launch Chainalysis; chief technique officer Jonathan Levin, 33.
Fireblocks
Its software program helps buyers, in addition to establishments like BNY Mellon, BNP Paribas and eToro maintain cryptocurrencies securely. In 2023, it additionally ramped up its enterprise of turning conventional finance belongings into tokens (one thing known as tokenization) to assist settle transactions sooner and at a decrease value. Considered one of these initiatives tokenized the $15 billion a yr Israeli authorities debt market. (Fireblocks predicts that $1 trillion in bond belongings world broad can be on the blockchain by 2028.) The agency additionally works with 10 banks to allow their stablecoin enterprise and has 25 further banks on its pipeline.
Headquarters: New York, New York.
Funding: $1.0 billion from Spark Capital, Cyberstarts, Coatue and others.
Newest valuation: $8 billion.
Date of final valuation: January 2022.
Bona fides: Since its founding, its infrastructure has supported 170 million wallets and greater than $4 trillion in trades.
Cofounders: CEO Michael Shaulov, 41, who beforehand based cyber safety startup Lacoon Cellular Safety; chief expertise officer Pavel Berengoltz, 47; chief product officer Idan Ofrat, 42.
Gauntlet
Goals to assist decentralized finance exchanges (resembling Uniswap
UNI
ARB
Headquarters: New York, New York.
Funding: $45 million from Ribbit, Paradigm, and First Spherical.
Newest valuation: $1 billion.
Date of final valuation: March 2022.
Bona fides: Helps shield a complete of greater than $9 billion in shoppers’ protocol belongings.
Cofounders: CEO Tarun Chitra, 35, Chief Know-how Officer Rei Chiang, 37, and Chief Working Officer John Morrow, 36.
RELATED ARTICLES