Fredericton cybersecurity startup Gray Wolf Analytics has signed a letter of intent with Ocean Falls Blockchain for the Vancouver-based company to become the first member of Gray Wolf’s early adopter program.

In a press release, Gray Wolf President Dhirendra Shukla said he and CEO Matthew Sampson plan to use the early adopter program to gather customer feedback. The two co-founders’ seven-person team began commercializing its technology last year, with the city of Fredericton as one of its first customers.

“Gray Wolf’s solution is a future-looking partnership for Ocean Falls,” said Ocean Falls CEO Oded Orgil in the press release. “As we continue to engage in new blockchain verticals, risk protection for our users is a critical piece we wish to ensure.”

Blockchain is the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Etherium. It allows for anonymous financial transactions, which can facilitate money laundering, fraud and other crimes.

But blockchain systems create ledgers that track all transactions. Gray Wolf is aiming to use the behavioural and transactional patterns of users to identify potential cases of money laundering -- a process similar to how conventional banks spot bad actors -- while preserving the anonymity of legitimate users.

“We’re not a surveillance company; we’re a safety company,” Chief Executive Sampson said in a September interview.

“We make sure organizations understand the risk that they pose to their economy, their business, to their users and how they can mitigate that.”