Businesses globally are increasingly embracing blockchain technology for payment processing and other applications. A report released by Coinbase in June 2024 reveals a 39% year-over-year surge in blockchain initiatives among Fortune 500 companies, the top revenue-generating firms in the world.
In this context, the demand for reliable and efficient blockchain analysis tools is rising. These tools protect businesses from potential risks associated with the cryptocurrency industry, ensure compliance, and foster a safer, more transparent crypto ecosystem.
Here are the 10 best blockchain analysis tools that your business should consider in 2024 to secure on-chain transactions.
What is Blockchain Analysis?
Blockchain data analysis refers to the process of analysing and interpreting data stored on a blockchain network. This encompasses collecting, aggregating, and visualising transaction data, wallet addresses, and other on-chain information to uncover patterns, track activities, and identify potential risks or opportunities.
The transparency and immutability inherent in blockchain technology provide a unique advantage for data analysis. Unlike traditional financial systems, where information is often siloed and opaque, blockchain data is publicly accessible, creating a wealth of information that can be leveraged for a variety of use cases.
Blockchain analytics software leverages advanced data processing, machine learning, and visualisation capabilities to transform raw blockchain data into useful information. These tools help businesses, regulators, and law enforcement maintain compliance, mitigate risks, and foster trust by connecting wallet addresses to real-world entities, tracking transactions, and identifying high-risk or illicit activities.
How Does Blockchain Analytics Tools Work?
Blockchain analysis software harnesses advanced data processing techniques to extract and interpret blockchain networks' data streams. This typically involves the following steps:
- Data Collection: Analysts gather raw data, often utilising open-source tools like Ethereum ETL to convert the information into more user-friendly formats, such as CSV files.
- Entity Labelling: The platforms then label and cluster wallet addresses and other entities based on their on-chain activities, allowing users to identify the individuals or organisations behind specific transactions.
- Risk Assessment: Sophisticated algorithms and machine learning models are employed to assess the risk associated with various wallet addresses, transactions, and entities, flagging potential illicit or suspicious activities.
- Visualisation and Reporting: The analysed data is then presented in intuitive dashboards and reports, enabling users to easily navigate and interpret the insights, making informed decisions and taking appropriate actions.
Top 10 Tools for Blockchain Analytics
The market for blockchain tools is rich with solutions for different purposes. Here are the top 10 blockchain analytics tools that can help your business securely process cryptocurrency transactions and stay compliant with regulations.
1. Chainalysis
Chainalysis is a leading blockchain data platform that provides various services to help banks, businesses and regulators analyse, track, and monitor cryptocurrency transactions. Its flagship product, Reactor, offers advanced analytical capabilities, including automatic peel-chain detection and cross-chain graphing, enabling investigators to trace transactions across different blockchains.
Chainalysis provides invaluable insights into customer cryptocurrency usage through its Business Data tool. The company's Investigations and Special Programs Team is also on hand, offering critical support to law enforcement agencies, regulators, and case investigations.
Chainalysis Kryptos delivers exhaustive profiles of over 1800 cryptocurrency businesses based on their KYC details, establishing it as a go-to industry reference for cryptocurrency services and their related on-chain activities.
2. Dune Analytics
Dune Analytics is one of the most prominent open source blockchain analysis tools for extracting and analysing blockchain data. Its intuitive interface allows users to efficiently query SQL-esque data and translate it into comprehensive charts, enhancing user comprehension and decision-making.
Dune Analytics offers an interactive, forum-like environment. Here, users can publish, comment on, and share data freely. A significant advantage is that this shared data is available completely free of charge.
Dune supports a wide range of blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Bitcoin, making it a versatile tool for analysing on-chain metrics across multiple ecosystems. Crypto enthusiasts typically utilise the tool to analyse decentralised exchanges, lending protocols, OpenSea listings, and much more.
3. Messari
Messari is a prominent figure in the world of crypto analytics, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed to meet the diverse requirements of investors, traders, and researchers.
A highlight of the Messari platform is the delivery of daily research reports. These cover a wide array of sectors and trends within the crypto universe, providing users with invaluable market insights. The Advanced Screener is another feature worth noting. This feature enables users to conveniently view all the vital information about digital assets in a single window, offering a complete snapshot of the market at any moment.
Messari's toolset is the ability to create custom watchlists. This feature allows users to curate personalised lists of assets to follow, ensuring they stay connected with their most valued interests. Although watchlists are found on many other crypto platforms, Messari arguably provides this service in more depth. With several price plans, the platform caters to users with varied needs, establishing its position as a comprehensive and versatile crypto analytics platform.
4. TRM Labs
TRM Labs presents a comprehensive solution for risk management and compliance in the digital asset space, catering to businesses operating with cryptocurrencies. Its Know-Your-VASP solution efficiently assesses the risk associated with different virtual asset service providers.
One critical service offered by TRM Labs is the TRM Transaction Monitor. This tool ensures businesses remain compliant with AML and counter the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations. The Monitor closely tracks digital asset deposits and withdrawals, flagging and reporting any activity that may seem suspicious or abnormal.
The platform offers many valuable features that set it apart from its competitors. The transaction monitoring, risk scoring, and address clustering tools are just a glimpse of the powerhouse features in the platform. Other functionalities include real-time alerts, historical data analysis, and cross-chain analysis, all of which provide a robust platform for businesses to safely navigate the evolving crypto landscape.
5. AnChain.AI
AnChain.AI, a blockchain security company, excels at providing real-time analysis of cryptocurrency transactions, accurately identifying potential risks including, but not limited to, money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activities. This type of comprehensive surveillance is crucial in the expanding cryptocurrency market, especially for major businesses.
AnChain.AI effectively bridges the gap between the blockchain universe and the real one by associating pseudonymous addresses with real-world entities, enhancing transaction transparency and aids in the identification of parties involved in a transaction. The platform’s Web3 Security Operations Center (SOC) operates round-the-clock to monitor the blockchain for any suspicious activity, ensuring a robust security shield.
The platform leverages artificial intelligence to power its suite of cryptocurrency compliance and investigation products. AnChain.AI proves itself to be a comprehensive platform combining domain expertise, cutting-edge technology, and robustness, designed to tackle the complexities of blockchain security.
6. Elliptic
Elliptic is a highly esteemed blockchain data analytics platform trusted by numerous exchanges and businesses worldwide. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing cryptocurrency compliance and conducting in-depth blockchain investigations. Renowned for its innovative products, Elliptic empowers users by simplifying complex blockchain processes and mitigating associated risks.
Among its array of practical solutions, Elliptic Lens is highly effective for fraud prevention and compliance. It provides valuable insights into crypto wallets, reveals the identities behind various addresses, and illustrates money flows within wallets, helping businesses and customers effectively mitigate potential threats and risks.
In terms of functionality, the platform offers comprehensive analytics of over 100 crypto assets and covers over 10 billion data points. This extensive data coverage allows for reliable, actionable insights which businesses can leverage to mitigate risk and remain compliant.
7. Coinpath
Coinpath is an innovative blockchain analytics platform diligently serving an audience of financial institutions, banks, businesses, and law firms. It functions as an advanced crypto surveillance tool that provides a sophisticated tracking of monetary transactions on the blockchain, using APIs and a unique proprietary mathematical formula.
Coinpath relies on advanced machine learning models and heuristics, which notably enhances the analysis of transaction flow, account balances, and cluster information.
The platform distinguishes itself by utilising a series of API endpoints to accurately map the journey of assets, including the origin, transaction amount, destination, and every step in between. This level of detail allows stakeholders to monitor non-compliant users, showcasing a high level of accountability and transparency.
8. Parsiq
Parsiq offers real-time, historical, and raw formats, serving as a versatile blockchain API that can readily cater to the needs of modern dApps. The platform stands as a pivotal tool for developers, businesses and other blockchain enthusiasts looking for a reliable source of indexed data.
At the heart of Parsiq's offerings is Tsunami, a powerful tool providing an all-encompassing view of the necessary blockchain data. It boasts an impressive capability of offering real-time information on transactions, calls, and NFTs, amongst other critical record types. Its comprehensive market data coverage eliminates the need to scramble across multiple sources, streamlining the data-sourcing process.
To further enhance its service, Parsiq introduced Data Lakes. This feature serves as custom integrations of dApps and protocols, each coupled with its unique internal logic. Third parties can seamlessly retrieve associated data through designated Data Lake APIs. Depending on the requirements, Parsiq offers three different pricing plans, namely free, pro, and enterprise, each catering to different levels of API requests. The platform, therefore, offers a spectrum of solutions to meet the varying needs of its user base.
9. DeFi Llama
DeFi Llama is an exceptional tool for tracking decentralised finance (DeFi) activities, simplifying the journey by collating pertinent data and presenting crucial market statistics through a user-friendly dashboard. This tool’s ease of use and clear visibility make it an ideal choice to monitor TVL and other vital market metrics for some of the renowned DeFi protocols.
DeFi Llama covers a broad spectrum of blockchain networks. Its tracking capability includes Ethereum, BSC, Iron, Avalanche, Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism. Using the platform, investors and businesses can monitor yield farming earnings, analyse smart contracts, and observe individual blockchains' activities closely.
The tool scores high on its community-oriented design. The data is open-sourced and managed by the community, which adds credibility and transparency to the statistics provided. The platform can be used for free, making it one of the best free blockchain analysis tools for businesses looking to dip their toes in DeFi.
10. Nansen AI
Nansen AI is a blockchain tool designed to provide a high level of transparency and intelligence to the world of cryptocurrency and NFT. This platform harnesses on-chain data along with an extensive wallet database to offer real-time, insightful information about the crypto market.
Nansen breaks the mould of regular analytics tools by offering features such as transaction tracking, funds monitoring, and the discovery of new tokens, projects, and collections. Users can stay updated with big moves in the market through custom alerts for significant transactions made by influential wallets. Further, it offers a unique perspective on dApp activity through the tracking of gas usage and price.
Nansen AI's pricing structure is refined and user-centric, with three tiers - Standard, VIP, and Alpha, offering flexibility for varying approaches. Whether you're an individual investor or part of an institutional entity, Nansen AI has a package designed to navigate the dynamic tapestry of the crypto market effectively and efficiently.
Who Can Benefit from Blockchain Analytics Tools?
The versatility of blockchain analytics tools extends across various industries and stakeholders.
Regulators and Law Enforcement Agencies
Regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies can leverage blockchain analytics to combat financial crimes, such as money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud. Analysis tools enable the tracing of illicit transactions, the identification of suspicious wallet addresses, and the gathering of evidence for legal proceedings.
Financial Institutions and Crypto Businesses
Banks, exchanges, and other financial institutions operating in the crypto space can use blockchain analytics to ensure compliance with AML and KYC regulations, detect and prevent fraudulent activities, and manage risk exposure. These tools help businesses maintain a secure environment, build trust, and grow sustainably.
Investors and Traders
Cryptocurrency investors and traders can harness the power of blockchain analytics to make more informed investment decisions and refine their crypto trading strategies. It is possible to optimise portfolio performance and mitigate risks by monitoring market trends, identifying high-performing assets, and tracking the activities of influential players.
Developers and Researchers
Blockchain developers and researchers can leverage analytics platforms to gain deeper insights into the inner workings of decentralised applications (dApps), protocol performance, and user behaviour. This knowledge can inform the design, development, and optimisation of blockchain-based solutions.
Merchants and Companies
Merchants and businesses operating within the blockchain ecosystem can ensure the security and legitimacy of their transactions, protect against financial crimes, and make educated decisions regarding their crypto-related activities.
Final Thoughts
Blockchain analysis empowers businesses, regulators, and individuals to navigate this complex landscape with confidence, mitigating risks, ensuring compliance, and fostering a safer, more transparent crypto ecosystem.
