The Blockchain Analytics firm Elliptic has gained a strategic investment from the HSBC, making it a single company in the sector that will be supported by four globally systemically important banks (G-SIs). HSBC joins JPMorgan Chase, Santander and Wells Fargo on the Elliptic investor’s roster.
As part of the deal, Richard May, head of financial crime on the Corporate and institutional banking of HSBC, will sit on the Elliptic Board.
Blockchain banking on oversight
Elliptic technology is used by financial institutions, crypto and government exchanges to monitor blockchain transactions for financial crime signs. In the HSBC investment, Elliptic said it would climb to rent and expand its footprints to financial services.
“For more than a decade, we have been expecting the business of digital assets and investing in stability, scale and compliance with the capabilities demanded by global financial institutions,” said Elliptic CEO Simone Maini. “It is a validation of our vision and the growing market needs.”
Mayo said the HSBC’s decision reflects the need for greater visibility in digital assets as regulation is tight.
“With the rapid evolution of digital property and money, avoiding financial crime risks has not been more important,” he said. “The elliptic solution provides HSBC with greater transparency, which helps to address rising regulatory expectations and industry standards.”
HSBC has faced a logical next step
Maini, who joined Elliptic more than a decade ago after a career in compliance with banking and financial compliance with the crime, described HSBC’s involvement as a natural next step in a long relationship.
“As is often the case with these types of relationships, it usually starts with some kind of commercial exploration,” he told CoinDesk. “When you see a strategic required alignment with a high potential company, it can return to the investment team in the adventure inside the bank, and we eventually get to.”
He said May’s appointment on the board would bring a new scale: “We are not present a practitioner on financial crime on our board, most of the investor backgrounds. Rich brought a 360-degree view from both banking and government, and I think it will have a huge influence.”
Growth Areas: Stablecoins, AI and Range
The elliptic is riding in a wave of demand from banks exploring stablecoins and tokenized assets. Earlier this year it launched a tool called the Issuer because of hard work to help banks assess purse risks before holding the stablecoin reserves.
Maini said the firm is also pushing ahead of a “AI -driven roadmap,” including a copilot focused on the compliance launched this year to shorten onboarding hours for banks entering Crypto. Another priority is to expand the blockchain range:
“We don’t want to say not to a customer. If they want to screen transactions on a new network, we need to be prepared.”
