Merkle Science
Singapore-founded firm that tracks crypto wallets and transactions for banks, exchanges, and governments.
On the record
Checkpoint: Deadline for next priced funding round before drought triggers down-round or acquisition risk
The call
Merkle Science still screens most of the crypto market and sits inside Mastercard's partner program, but four years without new funding and no AI agent leave it exposed while TRM Labs and Elliptic pull ahead.
Merkle Science helps governments and exchanges catch illegal cryptocurrency activity by tracking where money moves on blockchains. The company built real advantages through its own data collection, government contracts, and direct connections to exchanges, but these advantages are getting harder to defend. TRM Labs, Elliptic, and Chainalysis have much more money and are releasing AI-powered tools faster, competing in the exact same market without barriers stopping them. The situation could turn around if Merkle Science raises fresh funding and launches its own AI product in the next year or so, but continued silence while competitors move ahead would suggest the company is falling behind for good.
Why
01
AI pressure: TRM Labs Co-Case Agent, Chainalysis Intelligence Agents. Rivals ship AI agents that auto-write investigation cases while Merkle Science has announced no comparable product publicly. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: TRM Labs and Elliptic. Both raised huge rounds in 2026 (TRM $1B valuation, Elliptic $610-670M) and can outspend Merkle Science on data, sales, and AI tooling. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Government vendor contracts, exchange integrations, and proprietary attribution data built since 2018 still lock in existing customers.
What would change this call
Merkle Science announces a priced funding round by Q4 2026. Flat or up valuation would show investors still back it against TRM Labs and Elliptic.
Merkle Science ships a named AI agent product like TRM's Co-Case Agent. Would show it isn't falling behind rivals on core product features.
Reports of layoffs or headcount decline at Merkle Science surface in press or filings. Would indicate operational stress and funding drought worsening.
Merkle Science ships a named AI agent product like TRM's Co-Case Agent. Would show it isn't falling behind rivals on core product features.
Reports of layoffs or headcount decline at Merkle Science surface in press or filings. Would indicate operational stress and funding drought worsening.
Key numbers
- $25.5M total funding raised since 2018
- 47 months since last priced round
- Growth Score of 1 out of 100
Named risks
- No priced funding round since August 2022 Series A extension, over 3.5 years of drought as of mid-2026.
- Rivals TRM Labs, Elliptic, and Chainalysis have all shipped branded AI-agent compliance tools while Merkle Science has none announced.
- Headcount growth flagged at 0% year-over-year by one tracker as of June 2026, signaling stagnation.
- Inconsistent public reporting of headquarters location across sources (NYC, Singapore, LA) suggests unclear corporate footprint.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| TRM Labs | losing to | Closed $70M Series C at $1B valuation Feb 2026, shipping AI Co-Case Agent tool |
| Elliptic | losing to | Raised $120M Series D at $610-670M valuation May 2026, branded AI-native compliance |
| Chainalysis | losing to | Acquired Alterya, launched AI Blockchain Intelligence Agents 2025-2026, ~200+ staff |
| Mastercard ecosystem | gaining on | Joined Mastercard Crypto Partner Program March 2026, new distribution channel |
Questions people ask
- Is Merkle Science profitable?
- No audited revenue or profitability figures are public. The company self-reported over 900% revenue growth in 2021, but no financial disclosures have followed, and no priced funding round has closed since August 2022 as of mid-2026.
- Who founded Merkle Science?
- Merkle Science was founded in 2018 by Mriganka Pattnaik and Nirmal AK as a Singapore-based blockchain risk and compliance analytics company, later shifting its executive base to New York around 2021.
- Who is Merkle Science's biggest competitor?
- Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic are its main rivals. TRM Labs closed a $70M Series C at a $1B valuation in February 2026, and Elliptic raised $120M at a $610-670M valuation in May 2026, both far outpacing Merkle Science's funding.
- Could AI replace Merkle Science's forensics tools?
- AI can automate wallet clustering and pattern-matching, and rivals Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic have all shipped branded AI-agent tools by 2026. Merkle Science has not announced an equivalent AI-agent product as of mid-2026, though its proprietary attribution data remains a defensible asset.
- Has Merkle Science raised funding recently?
- No priced venture round has closed since its $19M Series A extension in August 2022, which brought the round total above $24M. One tracker flagged this funding gap as lasting 47 months, as of June 2026.
- Who owns Merkle Science?
- Merkle Science is privately held and venture-backed, founded by Mriganka Pattnaik and Nirmal AK, with investors including SGInnovate, Kraken Ventures, Darrow Holdings, Beco Capital, and K3 Ventures across funding rounds through August 2022.
Timeline
- 2026-03-11Joined Mastercard Crypto Partner Program alongside Anchorage Digital, Circle, Fireblocks
- 2025-12-04Partnered with Aleo to bring risk monitoring to privacy-preserving blockchain
- 2025-08-06Partnered with VerifiedX to strengthen compliance offerings
- 2025-02-11Partnered with Stablecoin Standard
- 2024-09-04Released Compass dashboard, Transaction Split View, and Watchlist upgrades
- 2024-06-17Partnered with Carahsoft to reach U.S. government agencies
- 2024-06-04Acquired Staging Labs to boost EVM attribution capability
- 2022-08-09Raised $19M Series A extension, bringing round total above $24M
- 2021-09-30Raised $5.75M Series A led by Darrow Holdings
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Merkle Science Venture Capital and Private Equity Financings (2022-08-09)
- Merkle Science Raises $5.75M in Series A (2021-09-30)
- Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations (2026-06-24)
- Merkle Science - Headcount, Funding & Open Jobs (2026-06-20)
- Blockchain Analytics Platform Merkle Science Raises $19M (2022-08-09)
- Merkle Science Stock Price, Funding, Valuation, Revenue & Financial Statements (2025-09-01)
- Merkle Science Announces Extension of Series A to Over $24 Million (2022-08-08)
- Merkle Science Joins the Mastercard Crypto Partner Program (2026-03-11)
- Merkle Science Acquires Staging Labs (2024-06-04)
- Merkle Science and Carahsoft Partner (2024-06-17)
- New Capabilities in Risk and Compliance (2024-09-04)
- Merkle Science and Stablecoin Standard Partner (2025-02-11)