Blockchain Intelligence Firm TRM Labs Raises $60M in Series B Funding Round

TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm helping financial institutions and law enforcement trace crypto transactions, announced Tuesday it has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round led by Tiger Global.

TRM Labs Closes $60M Raise

According to a press release, the Series B funding round was led by startup investing giant Tiger Global, with participation from notable financial institutions, including Amex, Visa, City, and payment firms PayPal and Block (former Square).

Commenting on the raise, co-founder and CEO of TRM Labs Esteban Castaño said:

“Crypto is moving faster than any sector in our lifetimes. Organizations need a blockchain intelligence partner that can stay ahead of the evolving risk landscape — from ransomware attacks to DeFi exploits.”

According to Castaño, the latest fundraise will allow TRM to continue to offer the most innovative technology solutions on the market to its customers. TRM raised $14 million in a Series A equity round at an undisclosed valuation in June. 

Since launching in 2019, TRM has grown its revenue by 600% year-over-year and expanded its team from four to 60 employees. The company offers blockchain analytics and transaction tracing solutions to financial institutions and law enforcement. Its customers include DeFi exchange Uniswap, centralized exchange FTX, stablecoin issuer Circle, as well as government agencies IRS and FBI.

“Risk and compliance is a crucial piece of the puzzle as financial institutions, blockchain-based businesses, and government entities look to bring crypto into the world of finance,” TBD lead at Block Mike Brock said in a press release. “TRM is already a proven partner to a number of leading organizations, and its newest backers are just one indicator of its growth potential. We’re excited to be part of it.”

Crypto’s rapid proliferation and exponential growth have prompted concern in various government agencies, who fear criminals could use the technology for illicit activities, including money laundering and ransom payments. To the point, today the Biden administration published a document outlining its anti-corruption strategy, which includes targeting cryptocurrencies with a new Department of Justice (DOJ) task force.

According to the document, the task force, dubbed the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), will focus on “crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money laundering infrastructure actors.”

Law enforcement often commissions third-party blockchain intelligence firms like TRM Labs, Chainalysis, CipherTrace, and Elliptic to detect and fight crimes involving cryptocurrencies. As crypto continues to grow, these will likely play an even more important part within the industry, hence why they’re able to raise significant sums of money with relative ease.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and several other cryptocurrencies.