Security issues have always been one of the serious challenges facing the blockchain industry. Particularly with the ongoing global development of the Web3 sector, attackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, relentlessly tracking and exploiting vulnerabilities in projects and platforms to seize substantial profits. According to a report from SlowMist, there were 223 security incidents in the first half of 2024, resulting in losses totaling $1.43 billion. This represents a 55.43% increase in losses compared to the first half of 2023, which recorded 185 incidents and losses of approximately $920 million.

With the continuous risks of attacks on the blockchain ecosystem and user funds, the importance of crypto security companies is becoming more pronounced. These companies play a vital role in protecting digital assets, ensuring secure transactions, and preventing cyberattacks by providing secure solutions for cryptocurrency projects and blockchain technology.

Typically, the responsibilities of crypto security companies include:

1. Asset Protection: Designing and implementing secure storage solutions, such as hardware wallets and cold storage systems.

2. Transaction Security: Developing secure trading systems and innovative technologies to protect users and platforms while reducing the risk of fund theft.

3. Smart Contract Audits: Inspecting and verifying smart contract code for projects, helping to identify and rectify potential vulnerabilities.

4. Network Security: Providing comprehensive cybersecurity solutions for platforms such as cryptocurrency exchanges to mitigate hacking risks.

5. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC): Offering compliance solutions to help businesses meet regulatory requirements.

In the face of an ever-evolving and maturing crypto industry, blockchain security companies must continuously develop and refine security technologies to address potential threats, safeguard the assets of users and enterprises, and adapt to changing regulatory demands. This article will summarize the top ten security companies in the blockchain industry for user and crypto enterprise reference. (Note: The ranking of crypto security companies is not in any particular order.)

Chainalysis

Chainalysis was founded in 2014 by former Kraken COO Michael Gronager and others. It now provides data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, as well as insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 70 countries.

According to Chainalysis, while cryptocurrencies contribute to a fairer and more inclusive global economy, greater trust and transparency are essential to fully realize their potential. Therefore, Chainalysis focuses on the implementation of compliance and investigative tools to support the flourishing of the crypto industry.

The foundational implementation of Chainalysis’ platform serves as the basis for its solutions and services, offering seamless integration, robust security, and limitless scalability. By connecting real-world entities with on-chain activities through advanced machine learning, specialized forensic experts, and an extensive customer network, Chainalysis provides comprehensive blockchain intelligence. Currently, Chainalysis primarily offers three major solutions:

1) Crypto Investigation Solutions

Leveraging Chainalysis’ robust on-chain data network and global intelligence team, this solution enables comprehensive blockchain searches and advanced analysis to track transactions, identify and follow potential targets, make informed compliance decisions, and protect communities through actionable intelligence.

Source: Chainalysis

This solution primarily targets law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, tax authorities, and private institutions. To date, Chainalysis has effectively collaborated with over 1,300 global clients, helping to recover more than $11 billion in stolen funds.

2) Crypto Compliance Solutions

Chainalysis enhances businesses’ ability to withstand potential risks by matching different risk strategies through customized data insights, auditing operations, and implementing real-time transaction monitoring systems. In the past year, this solution has screened transactions exceeding $40 trillion.

Chainalysis’s crypto compliance solutions mainly target centralized exchanges, financial institutions, and platforms engaged in crypto operations.

3) Web3 Growth Solutions

Chainalysis’ database maps on-chain activities to real-world identities. Analyzing and tracking on-chain user behavior can better assist teams in gaining market insights, efficiently converting target audiences, and developing products and solutions to meet evolving user demands.

According to data from Rootdata, Chainalysis has completed seven funding rounds over the past decade, raising approximately $535 million. The most recent funding round occurred in May 2022, when Chainalysis announced the completion of a $170 million Series F round led by the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. Other investors included Accel, FundersClub, BNY Mellon, Blackstone, Dragoneer, and Emergence Capital, valuing Chainalysis at around $8.6 billion at that time.

OpenZeppelin

OpenZeppelin, founded in 2015, is a crypto cybersecurity technology and services company. It offers a comprehensive suite of security products to build, automate, and operate decentralized applications, as well as provide auditing services for decentralized systems.

One of its core products, the OpenZeppelin Defender platform, integrates directly into developers’ workflows, allowing teams to plan, code, audit, deploy, and operate projects more quickly and securely. It enables crypto developers to monitor the smart contracts used in their projects and manage upgrades, API key management, and automation of their smart contract scripts. The OpenZeppelin Defender cloud service supports over 30 networks, deployed over 3,000 contracts, and processed over 50 million transactions through the Defender relayer in 2023.

Additionally, OpenZeppelin provides various open-source tools, such as smart contract templates, an interactive smart contract generator, and security plugins. As of September 16, 2024, the total value of assets transferred through OpenZeppelin contracts reached $68.306 billion.

OpenZeppelin’s investors include Coinbase Ventures, Fabric Ventures, DCG, and IDEO CoLab Ventures. Its clients and partners include AAVE, Compound, Polkadot, the Ethereum Foundation, and Optimism.

Elliptic

Elliptic, founded in 2013, provides blockchain analytics and crypto compliance solutions for financial institutions, crypto enterprises, and regulatory bodies. Elliptic has over 350 clients, including Coinbase, Binance, Revolut, and Paysafe, across 29 countries and regions.

Elliptic’s compliance suite includes crypto wallet screening, transaction monitoring, and investigation solutions, offering real-time, programmatic cross-chain solutions across 40 blockchains to help detect and investigate high-risk activities. In summary, Elliptic primarily offers the following services:

1) On-chain Data Analysis

Elliptic has created one of the world’s largest blockchain identity datasets, containing over 100 billion asset data points covering 99% of the cryptocurrency market. This dataset links hundreds of millions of crypto asset addresses to known entities. Through real-time monitoring and comprehensive screening of on-chain transactions, Elliptic helps clients mitigate potential risks while allowing them to customize tools based on their specific risk preferences.

Source: Elliptic

2) Risk Scoring and Value Flow Visualization

For transactions, clients, and wallets, Elliptic has developed a comprehensive risk scoring system ranging from 0 to 10. Leveraging Elliptic’s data science and machine learning technologies, clients can obtain a one-click view of fund flows covering all crypto assets.

3) API Designed for Compliance Automation

With Elliptic’s API tools, clients can perform batch screening of wallets and transactions, simplifying compliance processes. Additionally, Elliptic conducts due diligence on over 1,000 virtual asset service providers (VASPs), such as exchanges and other crypto enterprises.

Elliptic has completed several rounds of funding. According to publicly available information, in 2021, Elliptic raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from DCG, Octopus Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund, SBI Holdings, SignalFire, Paladin Capital Group, Wells Fargo, and AlbionVC. In 2022, JPMorgan also invested in Elliptic, though the specific amount was not disclosed.

Fireblocks

Fireblocks, founded in 2018, is an enterprise-grade platform that provides a secure infrastructure for the movement, storage, and issuance of crypto assets.

Fireblocks enables exchanges, custodians, banks, lending departments, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks network and MPC (Secure Multi-Party Computation) technology, including access to DeFi and staking.

The Fireblocks platform consists of three core components:

1) Digital Asset Wallet

Fireblocks wallets can be hot wallets, warm wallets, or cold wallets. The key feature of these wallets is their use of the MPC-CMP protocol, which redefines private key security by never collecting private keys as a whole, thus eliminating risk. Additionally, MPC-CMP requires fewer transaction rounds for signing (8 times faster than standard MPC) and offers cold storage signing, where key shares are stored offline.

Fireblocks wallets support a range of operations, including vaults, transactions, cold storage, royalties, NFTs, and smart contracts.

2) Platform Governance

The Fireblocks policy engine is a workflow authorization solution that automates transactional rules and administrator-approved governance policies, such as internal wallets, exchanges, fiat providers, DeFi protocols, Web3 DApps, and token minting.

3) Fund Management

The Fireblocks platform centralizes wallet and address management to simplify crypto and NFT vault operations. Transfers from Fireblocks wallets are ensured to be secure and user-friendly, with the network automatically verifying deposit addresses to avoid manual entry and test transfers. It also automatically rotates secure addresses for supported assets to simplify settlement and maps transactions to counterparties for accurate reporting.

Fireblocks has served over 1,800 financial institutions, including Magic Eden, Near, Moonpay, and Animoca Brands. It supports the creation of over 200 million wallets, with more than $6 trillion in crypto assets securely transferred through its platform. In August of this year, Fireblocks announced that it had obtained a cryptocurrency custody license in New York, allowing it to custody crypto for U.S. clients.

Over the past six years, Fireblocks has completed five funding rounds, raising $1.039 billion. In 2022, Fireblocks secured $550 million in Series E funding led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital, with participation from Paradigm, ParaFi Capital, Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, Altimeter, General Atlantic, SCB 10X, Bank of New York Mellon, CapitalG, and Mammoth. At that time, Fireblocks was valued at $8 billion.

BitGo

BitGo, founded in 2013, is a digital asset custody service provider focused on institutional clients. Its primary clients fall into two categories: investors (such as hedge funds, market makers, and banks) and enterprises (such as exchanges, aggregation platforms, and crypto startups). BitGo deploys and protects their assets and supports their infrastructure, custody, and liquidity needs.

Currently, BitGo’s products are divided into three categories:

1) Asset Protection

BitGo pioneered multi-signature technology, offering tools such as hot wallets, self-custody cold wallets, and NFT wallets to safeguard user funds. BitGo also supports qualified custody services and provides insurance coverage of up to $250 million.

2) Fund Deployment

Based on clients’ risk tolerance, BitGo maximizes the value of clients’ funds through various means, including lending, trading, and staking.

3) Platform Development

Exchanges, aggregation platforms, and software companies can utilize BitGo’s wallet and API technologies to support their backend systems.

BitGo’s partners include Pantera, Bitstamp, GSR, and Hashkey Capital. It serves as the custodian for the Bitcoin stablecoin WBTC. In August of this year, BitGo announced that it had obtained a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

BitGo has completed several funding rounds, the most recent occurring in August 2023. BitGo raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.75 billion. Although BitGo declined to disclose specific investors, it mentioned that they are from the U.S. and Asia, with some coming from outside the crypto industry.

SlowMist

SlowMist Technology, founded in 2018, focuses on blockchain ecosystem security. SlowMist has accumulated thousands of commercial clients across several major countries and regions.

SlowMist provides a complete security service that ranges from “threat detection” to “threat defense.” Its main products include:

• Security Audits: Comprehensive security audits focused on the source code and business logic of smart contract-related projects and critical modules related to blockchain fund security and consensus security.
• Threat Intelligence (BTI): Integration of threat intelligence to establish a unified defense system for on-chain and off-chain security governance.
• Defense Deployment Services with Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering (AML): Implementation of tailored and systematic defense solutions, including securing cold, warm, and hot assets, such as anti-DDoS/CC attacks, banking-grade encryption machines, and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Vulnerability Scanning for False Recharge: Providing security assurance for transaction platform deposits and withdrawals.
• Security Monitoring (MistEye): A dynamic security detection system covering all possible vulnerabilities, offering continuous and comprehensive security protection.
• Hacked Archive (SlowMist Hacked): This archive continuously and comprehensively records blockchain attack incidents, currently cataloging 1,681 hacking events with total losses of approximately $33.463 billion.
• Smart Contract Firewall (FireWall.X): An EOS smart contract firewall.
• Cryptocurrency Tracking and Analysis Platform (MistTrack): This anti-money laundering tracking system developed by SlowMist AML is primarily aimed at end users. It assists in tracking illegal funds through on-chain data analysis and has identified over 90 million risky addresses to date.

Source: SlowMist

CertiK

CertiK, established in 2018, offers comprehensive end-to-end security solutions through formal verification and AI technology collaboration to protect and monitor blockchains, smart contracts, and Web3 applications. Additionally, the company developed “CertiK Chain,” a blockchain focused on enhancing the security of smart contracts.

CertiK’s services are designed to meet the highest security standards, adhering to ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 1, and 2 requirements for its managed service platform (Skyharbor). The main products offered by CertiK include:

1) Web3.0 Security Audits

This encompasses smart contract audits, Layer 1/Layer 2 blockchain audits, and wallet audits.

2) Security Scoring and Ranking

Launched in June 2021, the CertiK Skynet system provides security scores based on a multidimensional assessment of projects, including code reviews, community development, on-chain data, and token market analysis. It also offers 24/7 threat monitoring for crypto projects.

Source: CertiK

3) Penetration Testing

CertiK has launched a bug bounty program to recruit top white-hat hackers who conduct simulated attacks and tests continuously. This approach helps detect and fix vulnerabilities in wallets, exchanges, and DApps before hackers can exploit them.

4) Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering/KYT, and Risk Management

Launched in 2023, SkyInsights by CertiK supports features like wallet screening, real-time transaction monitoring, and customizable alerts to assist financial institutions, small to medium-sized enterprises, and crypto-native platforms in navigating compliance complexities.

As of now, CertiK has audited over 4,700 projects, identifying 115,000 vulnerabilities and protecting nearly $364 billion in digital assets from loss. In terms of funding, CertiK has completed 7 funding rounds, raising a total of over $290 million, with investors including Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia China, Tiger Global, Binance Labs, Shunwei Capital, and Goldman Sachs.

Quantstamp

Established in 2017, Quantstamp is a smart contract auditing company that promotes the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology through security and risk assessment services. According to official data, Quantstamp supports over 50 ecosystems and has completed audits for over 750 projects, protecting approximately $200 billion in digital assets.

In addition to contract auditing services, Quantstamp also offers custodial security services to ensure ongoing safety and monitoring after deployment. One of its key products, the insurance product Chainproof, protects client funds from smart contract attacks, significantly reducing risk.

Source: Quantstamp

Quantstamp is well-versed in various programming languages, serving clients across multiple sectors:

• L1/L2: Ethereum 2.0, Solana, TON, BNBChain, Polygon, etc.
• Gaming and NFTs: OpenSea, Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Art Block, etc.
• DeFi: MakerDAO, Curve, Lido, Compound, Pendle, Ethena, etc.
• Infrastructure and Staking: Galxe, API3, Alchemy, RockX, Sequence, etc.
• Financial Institutions: VISA, Mirror, Revolut, Wintermute, eToro, etc.

According to publicly available information, Quantstamp completed a funding round in 2019, with investors including Nomura Holdings and Digital Garage.

Ledger

Ledger was founded in 2014 and is renowned for its cryptocurrency hardware wallets. However, through its proprietary technology, it also offers institutional-grade custody services and asset management solutions.

Ledger hardware wallets are supported by a secure element chip and Ledger’s proprietary operating system, accommodating thousands of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Ledger provides integrated services, allowing users to pair their wallets with the Ledger Live application for seamless access to decentralized applications and Web3 services, including token purchases, exchanges, and staking.

Beyond individual users, Ledger has launched an enterprise-grade platform that offers B2B SaaS self-custody experiences, enabling institutions to effectively manage and protect their digital asset operations at scale. Ledger Enterprise combines hardware, software, and firmware solutions, utilizing SOC 2 Type II standards based on mature banking technology hardware security modules (HSM), ensuring global compliance and allowing institutional clients to operate worldwide with top-tier audits.

As of now, Ledger has completed five funding rounds. The latest round, in 2023, saw Ledger secure an investment of €100 million from institutions such as DFG, Morgan Creek Digital, Cathay Innovation, True Global Ventures, and VaynerFund, bringing Ledger’s valuation to €1.3 billion.

Coincover

Coincover, established in 2018, offers unique technology to protect digital assets for crypto companies and individual investors. This includes monitoring and analyzing transactions to identify suspicious activities, defending against cyber threats and malicious attacks, and providing end-to-end encrypted vaults for secure storage and private key recovery.

According to official reports, Coincover has protected over 5 million wallets and assisted over 500 blockchain companies, including Fireblocks, BitGo, and Ledger, safeguarding approximately $30 billion from risks.

In 2023, Coincover completed a Series B funding round led by Foundation Capital, raising $30 million. Other investors in Coincover include Element Ventures, CMT Digital, Avon Ventures, FinTech Collective, Volt Capital, and DRW Venture Capital.

Conclusion

Asset security is the cornerstone of the sustainable development of the crypto economy. A lack of security measures directly undermines user confidence in crypto industry participation. This leads to significant market volatility and hinders the large-scale commercial adoption and long-term sustainable development of the entire crypto ecosystem.

Therefore, blockchain security companies play a crucial role in promoting the industry’s healthy development. In addition to the ten companies mentioned above, more and more crypto security firms are emerging in various specialized fields, such as Immunefi, a crypto bug bounty platform; GoPlus Security, which focuses on modular user security layers for Web3; and Cube3, a Web3 firewall network. They continuously fill market gaps and drive industry progress by launching innovative security solutions.

User education in crypto security is also extremely important. Users must actively follow and adapt to market developments, continuously update their security knowledge and practices, and remain vigilant to protect their funds better. The crypto industry can only achieve healthy and sustainable development through collaborative efforts from multiple parties.