Chainalysis, a blockchain data firm, plans to shift its focus from investigating Web3 violations to preventing them. This week, the US-based company announced its acquisition of Hexagate, a Tel Aviv-based Web3 security firm. The deal, finalised for an undisclosed amount, aligns with Chainalysis’s strategic growth plans for the coming year.
Hexagate provides a suite of tools for Web3 security, including risk mitigation, forensic analysis, and compliance, serving major crypto firms like Coinbase, Polygon, Uniswap, and Consensys. These capabilities caught the attention of Chainalysis, according to an official statement.
Commenting on the development, Chainalysis CEO Johathan Levin said, “over the past two years, they (Hexagate) detected all known hacks – and more than 98 percent were detected before they occurred. Their commitment to accuracy and collaboration reminded me of our own team.”
Levin noted that in recent years, crypto hackers have managed to displace billions of dollars from the crypto ecosystem – which otherwise has the potential to provide the safest financial systems internationally. In February for instance, a Chainalysis report said that payments from crypto-related ransom attacks doubled to a record $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,304 crore) in 2023.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. Web3 is transparent by design, and with the right solutions, it can be the world’s safest financial system,” Chainalysis CEO added.
Chainalysis posted an official update regarding the aquisition on X.
https://x.com/chainalysis/status/1869369317336215861
With Hexagate now integrated into Chainalysis, the combined teams will focus on developing advanced security tools to protect smart contracts, stablecoins, wallet infrastructures, and layer-1 and layer-2 blockchain networks from malicious threats.
Looking ahead, Chainalysis anticipates that governments worldwide will intensify the monitoring of smart contracts to identify those potentially linked to illicit funds. The company plans to deepen its collaboration with these governments to enhance the tracking of illegal financial activities.