Chainalysis Acquires Israeli Fraud Prevention Startup Alterya

Blockchain giant Chainalysis is acquiring the Israeli company Alterya. This marks Chainalysis' second acquisition in Israel, following its purchase of Hexagate last month. Chainalysis, which develops blockchain analytics, transaction analysis tools, and data accessibility solutions, employs over 700 people worldwide and serves clients including financial institutions, governments, and law enforcement agencies.

Alterya was founded in 2022 by Elad Fouks(CEO) and Shahaf Gonen (CTO). Fouks is a veteran of Israel’s elite technological and operational intelligence units, while Gonen is a graduate of the Talpiot program and a former member of Unit 8200, having also worked at Google. The company raised $9.8 million in seed funding at its inception, led by Battery Ventures, with participation from Nyca, NFX, and the accelerator Y Combinator. Alterya employs 28 staff members who will remain with the company post-acquisition. It will operate as an independent product line and serve as a local development center.

Alterya specializes in real-time fraud prevention, focusing on crypto payments and other instant payment methods. The company’s core expertise lies in the early detection of social engineering scams, a growing threat as attackers increasingly leverage generative AI (GenAI) to create synthetic identities and fraudulent content designed to deceive end users. Alterya has developed a solution that integrates cybersecurity and AI capabilities for early and extensive fraud detection.

Operating largely under the radar until now, Alterya has experienced rapid growth since launching its product a year and a half ago. It assists some of the world’s leading financial organizations, including Coinbase, Square, and Binance, as well as major U.S. banks, in protecting hundreds of millions of customers from fraud. In 2024 alone, the company identified crypto fraud worth over $10 billion in real time and helped clients safeguard assets valued at over $100 million.

“With this acquisition, Chainalysis can now provide proactive real-time fraud protection for payments and enhanced fraud detection during the KYC (Know Your Customer) process for exchange providers, blockchain platforms, and wallets,” said Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CEO of Chainalysis. “Acquiring Alterya represents a significant step in our mission to deliver a holistic risk solution, encompassing fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and building trust in blockchain as a financial infrastructure.”

“We are thrilled to finalize this acquisition and join forces with Chainalysis. The technologies developed by both companies are highly synergistic, and we anticipate that this merger will drive rapid growth, deepen value for existing customers, and expand operations into new markets,” Fouks said. 

“Social engineering fraud has become the biggest challenge for financial services worldwide, particularly as they strive to adopt faster and more efficient payment infrastructures. Over the past year, this issue has intensified with the widespread use of GenAI to create fake digital identities and highly convincing fraudulent content at scale, bypassing standard verification processes. Alterya has developed a solution that represents a paradigm shift in detecting financial crime, using AI and in-house cybersecurity tools to enable early and comprehensive fraud detection, thereby protecting payment services and end customers globally.”