Bitcoin startup Elliptic has announced a new blockchain visualization tool that draws connections between several well-known dark markets and bitcoin exchanges.

Called the 'Bitcoin Big Bang', the feature is part of an offering aimed at businesses looking to beef up their anti-money laundering efforts.

The tool, which displays an interactive web of blockchain entities, shows how Silk Road, for example, connects to several 'Known Exchanges' currently operating.

Elliptic

CEO James Smith told CoinDesk the UK company intends to launch an API in July that will offer a broader range of information to participating clients, a group that will likely include exchanges and other companies that handle bitcoins on behalf of customers.

According to Smith, the identities of the exchanges on the tool were withheld because "we thought it would be more damaging to their business and our relationship to name-and-shame", stressing that the goal of the project isn't to reduce blockchain privacy but to put more information in the hands of companies that need to stay compliant.

He told CoinDesk:

The announcement reflects a shift towards compliance for the bitcoin custodian, which launched last year and raised $2m in seed funding in July 2014.

The company will compete with Chainalysis and Coinalytics, who both offer real-time visualisation tools for bitcoin's blockchain.

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