Blockchain Intelligence Firm TRM Labs Raises $14 Million As Digital Currency Adoption Grows

Bessemer Venture Partners, PayPal Ventures and others have invested in a $14 million Series A funding round for blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, according to a Thursday (June 17) press release.

“The team at TRM has built the next generation in blockchain intelligence software,” PayPal Ventures Managing Partner Peter Sanborn said in the release. “TRM is the trust layer necessary for cryptocurrency to realize its full potential to make financial services more affordable, convenient and secure. TRM Labs serves as a critical piece of infrastructure to build a safe and accessible new financial system.”

TRM Labs’ system connects with over a dozen blockchains, and it examines billions of digital asset transactions to find indications of fraud and financial crime, such as money laundering, in real time, according to the release. The rise in the adoption of digital currencies and blockchain technologies globally is leading financial institutions (FIs) to tap TRM for digital currency compliance and risk management.

TRM Labs Co-Founder and CEO Esteban Castaño said in the release that the company’s aim is “building a safer financial system for billions of people.”

San Francisco-based TRM Labs is hiring throughout product, engineering, data science and sales, according to the release.

The funding round also saw participation from Initialized Capital, Jump Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Operator Partners, Blockchain Capital, Y Combinator, Alumni Ventures Group, The MBA Fund, Tapas Capital, SGH Capital and executives from Google, the release stated.

The news comes as PayPal Ventures and American Express Ventures have made “strategic investments” in Codat, which is a business data FinTech startup.

“We’re excited to welcome American Express Ventures and PayPal Ventures as investors to further our mission to make life easier for small businesses,” Codat Founder and CEO Peter Lord said in a March announcement.

Codat said at the time that it powers the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) “data ecosystem.”

As PYMNTS reported in January, Divvy, which provides a platform for monitoring business expenses, landed $165 million in a funding round that included PayPal Ventures as a new backer.

Divvy said in a January announcement that its “simplified process and cost-saving benefits are especially important to Main Street businesses that are navigating the challenges and opportunities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”