Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, has made its first move into artificial intelligence (AI) by acquiring the fraud detection startup Alterya. The acquisition, reportedly worth $150 million, will enable Chainalysis to offer real-time proactive fraud protection and enhanced fraud detection for exchanges, blockchains, and wallet providers. Although not widely known in the crypto industry, Alterya has contracts with major players like Coinbase and Binance, and has monitored over $8 billion worth of monthly transactions to combat authorized fraud. This acquisition follows Chainalysis’ acquisition of Web3 security platform Hexagate in December. Fraud and scams in the financial services industry, including the crypto sector, have become more scalable and affordable due to the emergence of generative AI. This technology has been used by criminals to create fraudulent content for cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to the FBI, generative AI and deepfakes are expected to cost the US economy up to $40 billion by 2027, with nefarious software readily available on the dark web for $20,000. This accessibility is undermining the effectiveness of current anti-fraud tools.
Chainalysis Purchases AI Fraud Detection Startup for $150 Million, According to Report