Elliptic (company)

History

The company was co-founded by Adam Joyce, Tom Robinson and James Smith in 2013, with co-founder Jame Smith becoming CEO. By 2020, it was headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Singapore. In 2020, Wells Fargo invested $5 million in Elliptic, after an earlier funding round raised $23 million. One of its major investors in October 2021 was SoftBank, investing $60 million.

The company released an analysis of the 2021 Poly Network hack. in 2022, it released an analysis of the Harmony crypto heist. Elliptic also reported in February 2022 that at least $13.7 had been donated to the Ukrainian war effort through anonymous bitcoin donations. In 2023, Elliptic was reported to have a "high level of confidence" that the Lazarus Group was behind the Atomic Wallet hacks. In February 2024, Elliptic concluded that North Korea was responsible for the 2025 Bybit crypto heist resulting in $1.4 billion stolen in Ethereum cryptocurrency, supporting ZachXBT. In 2024, along with MIT and IBM, Elliptic released an AI model trained to notice the "shape" of bitcoin money laundering on Bitcoin's blockchain. It also made its data set public.

In 2024, Elliptic reported that the industry of "pig butchering" crypto scams was largely run by one Cambodian online platform known as Huione Guarantee, which had ties to the Cambodian ruling family. Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson was reported by Wired to recommend sanctions against Huione Guarantee. Elliptic reported that Huione Guarantee was "the largest illicit online marketplace to have ever operated," as at least $24 billion in sales had gone through." Ronbinson stated that he thought Google and Apple should "consider" when Huione Group was appropriate to be distributing apps on their services: shortly afterwards, by January 6, 2025, Google removed all Huione Group apps, while Apple took down only the Huione Group crypto exchange, leaving other services in the App store. After Elliptics analysis of Xinbi Guarantee and Hione Guarantee, both were blocked by Telegram. In 2025, Robinson was Elliptic's chief scientist.

Elliptic also traced the Chinese criminal organization Xinbi Guarantee to having a registration in the United States in 2025. In June 2025, Elliptic reported that Nobitex, a crypto exchange in Iran, had been hacked by Gonjeshke Darande, with $90 million in crypto then destroyed.

References

References

1. "Elliptic — Technology Pioneers 2020".
2. Lomas, Natasha. (2016-03-21). "Elliptic takes in $5M for its blockchain forensics tool".
3. (2015-06-18). "Elliptic Launches "Bitcoin Big Bang" Anti-Money Laundering Tool".
4. (2021-10-11). "Elliptic raises $60M to make cryptocurrency safer for finance".
5. "Case Studies {{!}} Coinbase, Revolut, Santander, Paysafe & More".
6. "USAspending.gov".
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10. Carnevali, David. (2021-10-11). "Elliptic Raises Funds to Help Firms Guard Against Crypto Crimes". Wall Street Journal.
11. (October 11, 2021). "SoftBank bets on crypto analytics firm Elliptic in $60 mln funding round". Reuters.
12. Browne, Ryan. (2020-02-13). "Wells Fargo backs a start-up that helps banks manage cryptocurrency risks".
13. "Technology Pioneers 2020".
14. (13 February 2020). "Wells Fargo backs a start-up that helps banks manage cryptocurrency risks".
15. (11 October 2021). "SoftBank bets on crypto analytics firm Elliptic in $60 mln funding round".
16. (13 August 2021). "Hackers behind history’s biggest crypto heist return millions in loot claiming they only did it ‘for fun’".
17. (30 June 2022). "North Korean hackers were behind the $100 million Harmony crypto heist, blockchain research firm says".
18. (26 February 2022). "Millions in Bitcoin pouring into Ukraine from donors".
19. (8 June 2023). "North Korean hackers linked to Atomic Wallet crypto hack".
20. (24 February 2025). "Researchers accuse North Korea of $1.4 billion Bybit crypto heist".
21. (1 May 2024). "A Vast New Data Set Could Supercharge the AI Hunt for Crypto Money Laundering".
22. (10 July 2024). "The $11 Billion Marketplace Enabling the Crypto Scam Economy".
23. (16 January 2025). "Apple and Google take down crypto apps from alleged $24 billion cyberscam market owner".
24. (15 May 2025). "2 massive black market services blocked by Telegram, messaging app says".
25. (February 21, 2025). "Hackers steal $1.5 billion from exchange Bybit in biggest-ever crypto heist".
26. (13 May 2025). "An $8.4 Billion Chinese Hub for Crypto Crime Is Incorporated in Colorado".
27. (18 June 2025). "Pro-Israel group hacks Iranian crypto exchange for $90 million—but throws away the money".