TRM Labs Raises $1.7M as Crypto Firms Warm Up to Compliance

Regtech startup TRM Labs has raised $1.7 million in a seed financing round led by Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term Capital and joined by Tapas Capital, Green D Ventures, and The MBA Fund, with participation from strategic angel investors.

The San Francisco-based company said the funding would be used to continue to scale-up and accelerate development of the product while increases its market presence, including immediately hiring new team members.

TRM’s platform uses AI and machine learning to help compliance teams at crypto firms enhance their risk management for supervising communications and automatically detect suspicious activity like money laundering and market manipulation.

The cross-border and stateless nature of Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term throws up different challenges to regulators, even if they decide to devise formal guidelines to govern the asset class.

Crypto firms warm up to regtech

As such, digital assets operators, including crypto exchanges, are increasingly turning to regtech solutions to help provide background checks on their customers as they find themselves under increasing scrutiny from regulators over possible violation of securities and AML rules.

Commenting on the news, Spencer Bogart, General Partner at Blockchain Capital, said: "The TRM team is very well suited to execute on this opportunity. The founders of TRM, Esteban Castaño and Rahul Raina, have deep experience across enterprise software, blockchain, and product design. We think TRM can significantly accelerate crypto's adoption by helping issuers and exchanges increase trust by being compliant on Day 1."

TRM CEO and co-founder Esteban Castaño added: "We believe that cryptocurrency is going to be a democratizing force in the world that lets anyone exchange value and access financial services. But to get there, we need to make it easier for everyone to be compliant. Just as the Internet led to an explosion of new content, crypto is leading to an explosion of new financial products and markets. We need regulatory and compliance infrastructure that scales with this new world."