# Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis opens Australian office

Leading blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis is opening its first Australian office in Canberra, coinciding with the news it has partnered with the Commonwealth Bank on its plans to offer crypto trading to 6.5 million app users. 

Chainalysis, which was valued at US$4.2 billion at its Series E funding round in June, is a blockchain data research platform founded by Jonathan Levin and Michael Gronager in 2014.

According to the company’s 2021 Geography of Cryptocurrency report, Southern Asia and Oceania are the fourth-largest crypto market in the world, accounting for $572.5 billion or 14% of all cryptocurrency value transacted between July 2020 and June 2021.

According to the report, the transaction activity in Oceania and Central and Southern Asia increased by 706% during the same period.

“The Pacific region is quickly becoming a center for cryptocurrency innovation,” said Chainalysis Australia and New Zealand manager Todd Lenfield. “Our increased investment in the region will ensure businesses and governments can explore digital asset ecosystems in a safe, compliant manner.”

The company’s managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, Ulisse Dellorto, added:

“Chainalysis’s data platform will strengthen the trust necessary to further legitimize cryptocurrency as an everyday asset for retail and institutional investors alike.”

Read more: Chainalysis will add Bitcoin to its balance sheet as price surges

The news comes after Chainalysis announced partnerships with leading Australian cryptocurrency businesses CoinSpot and CoinJar during August of last year.