Introducing Sentinel: Chainalysis' ecosystem monitoring solution for token issuers

Since 2014, Chainalysis has been developing the industry's leading blockchain intelligence dataset, and has gained deep experience working with token issuers and policymakers alike.

Since 2014, Chainalysis has been developing the industry’s leading blockchain intelligence dataset, and has gained deep experience working with token issuers and policymakers alike.

We’ve long believed that blockchains will become the primary mechanism for exchange of value, from tokenized securities to tokenized investments products to stablecoins, and more. To further instill trust and safety to cryptocurrency markets, it’s time to serve token issuers. These organizations need a way to assess risk for immediate primary issuance and redemptions, as well as reliable methods for understanding how their tokens are used across blockchain ecosystems, referred to as secondary markets.

Today, we’re pleased to announce Sentinel, our ecosystem monitoring solution for token issuers. In this blog, we’ll discuss why the time is right for this offering, and share a sneak peek into Sentinel’s features.

Ecosystem monitoring is necessary to safely grow stablecoin adoption

Over 80% of all crypto transactions involve stablecoins. But stablecoins are not only relevant to crypto markets, they’re an important bridge to traditional financial markets, too. Tether, the issuer of USDT, and Circle, the issuer of USDC, are notable U.S. Treasury holders. Tether was the seventh largest acquirer of U.S. Treasuries across countries in 2024. As of December 2024, it had over $113B in direct and indirect holdings of U.S. Treasuries, more than some G20 countries, like Germany.

Stripe, a leading payment processor, recently acquired Bridge, a platform that allows businesses to easily receive, store, convert, issue, and spend stablecoins. Zach Abrams, co-founder of Bridge, acknowledged on X, “We closed our acquisition with Stripe! Together, we’re scaling digital dollars to businesses everywhere. Stablecoins aren’t the future—they’re already transforming how people move money today.”

Policy momentum around stablecoins is increasing. “It’s evident that governments are recognizing both the benefits and risks from growing stablecoin usage, and this is motivating them to push forward on regulation,” Chengyi Ong, Chainalysis Head of Policy for APAC. Jurisdictions like Japan, the UAE, and the EU have all implemented stablecoin legislation, while others like Hong Kong and Singapore are also in advanced stages.

Authorizations are being granted under these frameworks, including Circle, which has been authorized under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation to issue USDC and EURC, and in July 2024, Paxos gained approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to issue stablecoins in partnership with DBS Bank.

The U.S. government has also said it would like to see stablecoin legislation circulating by August of this year.

Chainalysis research from the 2025 Crypto Crime Report shows that stablecoins now make up the majority of all illicit transaction volume, accounting for 63% of all illicit transactions. “This new reality is part of a broader ecosystem trend in which stablecoins also occupy a sizable percentage of all crypto activity, demonstrated by total growth YoY in stablecoin activity around 77%,” according to the report.

Both regulators and issuers are not powerless against the illicit use of stablecoins. Leading issuers such as Tether have been taking active measures to combat on-chain crime. Te