- Chainalysis has acquired Israeli startup Alterya for approximately $150 million
- This marks Chainalysis’ second Israeli acquisition in a month, following the purchase of Hexagate
- Alterya specializes in preventing authorized push payment (APP) fraud in cryptocurrency and real-time payment networks
Blockchain analytics giant Chainalysis plans to tackle social engineering fraud through the acquisition of specialist firm Alterya. The deal, estimated at around $150 million, follows Chainalysis’ recent acquisition of Israeli company Hexagate, underscoring the firm’s commitment to enhancing its cybersecurity capabilities. Alterya specializes in authorized push payment (APP) fraud prevention within the cryptocurrency and real-time payment networks, something that Chainalysis clearly feels is on the increase or could be as crypto becomes more mainstream.
Alterya Tackling Scourge of APP Fraud
Alterya was founded in 2022 by CEO Elad Fouks and CTO Shahaf Gonen has quickly positioned itself as a leader in APP fraud prevention. APP fraud is a type of financial scam where victims are deceived into willingly authorizing payments to fraudsters under false pretenses, such as romance scams. Unlike unauthorized transactions where a fraudster directly accesses a victim’s account, APP fraud relies on social engineering tactics to convince the victim to transfer funds voluntarily.
The company focuses on early detection of social engineering scams, which have increasingly employed AI to create deceptive synthetic identities and content. Alterya’s solutions integrate cybersecurity and AI to provide large-scale, cross-network detection, enabling real-time scam prevention even before attackers reach their targets.
Since launching its product, Alterya has collaborated with major financial institutions, including Coinbase, Square, and Binance, as well as leading US banks, protecting hundreds of millions of end customers globally. In 2024 alone, the company says it identified over $10 billion worth of crypto transactions sent to scammers and helped clients safeguard assets exceeding $100 million.
Chainalysis Identifying Biggest Threats
Chainalysis, known for its blockchain analytics and operational intelligence services, serves a diverse clientele, including financial institutions, governments, and law enforcement agencies. The purchase of Alterya represents a significant investment in combating fraud within the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape, in particular scams based on social engineering, such as romance/pig butchering scams.
Post-acquisition, all 28 of Alterya’s employees will continue their roles, with the company operating as an independent product line and serving as a local R&D center for Chainalysis. This integration is expected to enhance Chainalysis’ ability to provide comprehensive fraud detection and prevention solutions, addressing the growing challenges posed by sophisticated cyber threats in the cryptocurrency sector.
🚨 @chainalysis is acquiring Alterya, a fraud detection solution provider, to enhance its capabilities in combating crypto-related fraud and strengthening its blockchain security tools@RemyBlaireNews spoke to Jonathan Levin, CEO and Co-founder of Chainalysis, about the… https://t.co/0TWr9t6uJE pic.twitter.com/y5SY4wfIwr
— FINTECH.TV (@FintechTvGlobal) January 13, 2025
