London-based regtech firm ComplyAdvantage is beefing up its cryptocurrency anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities by partnering with blockchain sleuthing company Elliptic.
ComplyAdvantage is already working with crypto firms like Paxos and Gemini, but mainly to assist on the fiat AML side of things, said ComplyAdvantage Vice President Rob Dickinson. White-labeling Elliptic’s blockchain tracking and wallet attestation provides Dickinson’s firm with deeper on-chain detection tools.
“What we already provide for some of the larger crypto exchanges is the behavioral side. So looking at when Entity A sends money to Entity B via Entity C,” Dickinson explained in an interview. “Elliptic then gives us the ability to say this entity, if you follow up or down the chain, is linked to a darkweb pool somewhere, or a less-than-reputable exchange elsewhere.”
Partnering with blockchain sleuthing firms is probably a smart move, particularly in light of Mastercard’s recent acquisition of Elliptic rival CipherTrace.
Read more: Mastercard to Acquire Crypto Tracing Firm CipherTrace
As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, and financial institutions like card providers and banks edge closer to crypto, on-chain analytics could be another must-have, a bit like providers of crypto custody.
“The larger banks’ tolerance to reputational risk is extremely low,” said Dickinson. “They want to be able to look down the chain and be aware if some particular wallets are involved in some scams.”
