MUFG Innovation Partners Announces Investment In Chainalysis, Leading Provider Of Cryptocurrency Compliance Solutions

News provided by

Apr 16, 2019, 11:00 ET

TOKYO and NEW YORK, April 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MUFG today announced that MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd. (MUIP), a corporate venture capital fund and wholly owned subsidiary of MUFG, has invested in Chainalysis, Inc., a provider of investigation and compliance solutions to combat against illicit cryptocurrency activities.

The Chainalysis investment is MUIP's first investment outside of Japan and second since its January 2019 launch by MUFG. With the investment, Chainalysis plans to expand its business in Asia-Pacific and to open an office in the region.

Chainalysis has emerged as a leading provider of cryptocurrency compliance solutions. While the development and adoption of blockchains and corresponding decentralized financial systems have been growing, infrastructure and regulatory compliance frameworks are needed to ensure and build trust amongst all stakeholders.

"Chainalysis's compliance technology is important to providing the insight and anti-money laundering controls banks need in order to establish next-generation compliance frameworks," said Nobutake Suzuki, MUFG Innovation Partners' President and CEO. "Today's announcement signals our joint commitment to growing the cryptocurrency industry in Japan and Asia-Pacific more soundly and broadly. Further, it is our hope that this investment will lead MUFG toward forming a closer strategic relationship with Chainalysis."

Based in New York, Chainalysis leverages deep analytics and machine learning while maintaining data privacy to help law enforcement agencies track illicit cryptocurrency transactions. The company also provides financial institutions and cryptocurrency businesses with insights to help assess and enhance their controls as necessary.

MUIP's primary focus is to pursue partnerships and business synergies between MUFG group companies and portfolio companies. It plans to continue seeking investment opportunities in the financial technology (fintech) sector.

About MUFG

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world's leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with over 1,800 locations in more than 50 countries. The Group has over 150,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group aims to "be the world's most trusted financial group" through close collaboration among our operating companies and flexibly respond to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges. For more information, visit https://www.mufg.jp/english.

About Chainalysis

Chainalysis offers cryptocurrency investigation and compliance solutions to global law enforcement agencies, regulators, and businesses as they work together to fight illicit cryptocurrency activity. Backed by Accel, Benchmark, and other leading names in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com

SOURCE MUFG