Wells Fargo Invests $5M in Startup Connecting Crypto Exchanges and Banks

“Announced Thursday, the fresh $5 million from Wells Fargo Strategic Capital (WFSC) brings Elliptic’s Series B up to a total of $28 million. The investment is partly geared toward a recently launched product that helps crypto exchanges win banking relationships, Elliptic said.

“The product, Elliptic Discovery, provides a bill of health for over 200 crypto exchanges worldwide, covering everything from how they conduct know-your-customer (KYC) checks to whether they’re regulated in the first place.

“’Previously, a bank just didn’t know much about the exchange that was wanting to open an account with them,’ Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson told CoinDesk. ‘This will give them insights into how risky or otherwise a given crypto exchange is.’

“Almost all big banks have avoided crypto businesses because the perceived risk of dealing with potentially unsavory transactions was thought to outweigh the benefits. The job has been left to a handful of smaller financial institutions, including the U.S.-based Silvergate and Signature banks.

“Helping banks hook up with exchanges is a use case that’s probably underappreciated, said Robinson. ‘Elliptic Discovery really does help a bank to engage more closely with crypto exchanges,’ he said.

“Crypto sleuthing firms like Elliptic and similarly bank-backed Chainalysis are thought to have a bright future, with law enforcement agencies doubling down on crypto and industry regulations becoming clearer…”