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Blockchain Surveillance Firm Elliptic Expands Coverage to Over 50 Chains
14.4.2025
Elliptic, a blockchain surveillance firm, has expanded its coverage to include over 50 blockchain networks, a move aimed at improving its ability to track and analyze digital asset transactions. This expansion follows data indicating that 33% of complex cross-chain investigations involve more than...
Moonstone Research Study Etches Doubts on Monero’s Privacy; Crypto Community Reacts
6.11.2023
On September 1, 2023, hackers made off with 2,675.73 monero (XMR), worth over $3 million at the time, from the Monero CCS donation wallet in nine separate transactions. Now, blockchain analysis firm Moonstone Research has traced forward through three of those transactions in a postmortem released...
Elliptic Blockchain Surveillance Firm: North Korean Lazarus Group Theft Spree Reaches $240 Million in 104 Days
16.9.2023
Nefarious North Korean hacking group Lazarus has stolen nearly $240 million in cryptocurrencies in the past 104 days alone.
In a report published by blockchain surveillance firm Elliptic, Lazarus has been identified as the perpetrator behind a series of major cryptocurrency hacks in recent months...
What is Monero? A Brief History of the World’s Top Privacy Coin
11.9.2023
Monero currently occupies the foremost position among privacy cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization. The following Learning and Insights explainer briefly delves into the origins and development of Monero (XMR), emphasizing its distinctive features, such as anonymous transactions...
Mastercard Debuts Blockchain Surveillance Tool for Banks and Crypto-Centric Card Issuers
4.10.2022
On Tuesday, the multinational financial services corporation Mastercard revealed that it is launching a new crypto monitoring product called Crypto Secure. The Crypto Secure software aims to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in order to help banks and crypto-centric debit card...
Elliptic Identifies ‘Several Hundred Thousand Crypto Addresses’ Tied to Russia-Based Sanctioned Actors
17.3.2022
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, blockchain surveillance companies have discussed and implemented ways to combat sanctioned countries from using digital assets. Last week, Chainalysis revealed screening tools for crypto firms that aim to comply with international sanctions. On Monday,...
Chainalysis Study Shows ‘Criminal Whales’ Hold $25B in Digital Assets, Entities Represent 3.7% of All Crypto Whales
24.2.2022
According to research published by Chainalysis, criminal entities hold more than $25 billion in cryptocurrencies. The blockchain intelligence firm’s study shows that there was a significant increase in crypto balances held by criminals in 2021 as the metric jumped by 266% since the year...
Journalist Claims She Identified the 2016 DAO Hacker, Evidence Shows Investigators ‘De-Mixed’ Wasabi Transactions
22.2.2022
An article published by journalist Laura Shin, and research stemming from the blockchain surveillance firm Chainalysis, claims to identify the alleged identity of The DAO hacker who drained millions of dollars worth of ethereum from the decentralized autonomous organization on June 17, 2016....
Chainalysis to Offer Lightning Network Monitoring Service to VASPs in 2022
11.12.2021
On December 10, the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis revealed that the company has added support for Bitcoin’s second-layer protocol the Lightning Network (LN). According to Chainalysis, firms like exchanges and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) can leverage...
Payments Giant Mastercard Acquires Blockchain Intelligence Firm Ciphertrace
9.9.2021
Mastercard, the American multinational financial services corporation, announced the company is dipping further into the digital asset ecosystem by acquiring the blockchain intelligence firm Ciphertrace. The partnership announcement says the firm will help bolster Ciphertrace’s...
Darknet Users Leverage a New Blockchain Analytics Tool That Scans for Ties to Criminal Activity
16.8.2021
According to the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, cybercriminals are leveraging cryptocurrency analytics to get ahead of law enforcement. Elliptic says a “blockchain analytics tool has been launched on the dark web” and the tool is called “Antinalysis.” Meet...
Blockchain Surveillance Firm Chainalysis Raises $100 Million, Company’s Valuation Now $4.2 Billion
26.6.2021
The blockchain intelligence and surveillance firm Chainalysis announced the company has raised $100 million in Series E funding from investors such as Coatue, Benchmark, Accel, Addition, Dragoneer, Sequoia Heritage, and SVB Capital. The financing brings the company’s valuation to $4.2 billion...
DOJ Seeks Trial Attorney With Extensive Blockchain and Crypto Knowledge
24.6.2021
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking a trial attorney to help with the federal executive agency’s Digital Currency Initiative. The DOJ posted a job listing on the justice.gov web portal and the hired individual is expected to serve as an “expert on digital currency...
Privacy-Centric Coins See Fresh Gains, Monero Captures All-Time Price High
9.5.2021
On May 7, the privacy-centric crypto asset monero captured an all-time high at $515 per unit, as demand for confidential transactions has increased in recent times. Monero has gained more than 190% during the last three months, while a number of other privacy coins like zcash, verge, horizen,...
Chainalysis Launches Program to Store and Sell Seized Crypto Assets for Governments
13.11.2020
The blockchain intelligence and surveillance company Chainalysis revealed the launch of a new program that aims to help governments and insolvency practitioners sell seized cryptocurrencies. The news follows the recent U.S. government seizure of more than 69,000 BTC worth over $1 billion...
Ciphertrace Allegedly Builds Monero-Tracing Tools, XMR Proponents Disagree
31.8.2020
The blockchain surveillance firm Ciphertrace claims to have created the “world’s first” monero tracing tools for law enforcement. According to the company announcement, Ciphertrace developed forensic tools for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in order to track...
Visualize Crypto Transaction Privacy Scores With Blockchair’s ‘Privacy-o-Meter’
29.6.2020
On June 24, the block explorer and blockchain data platform, Blockchair, announced the launch of a new privacy tool called the “Privacy-o-meter.” According to Blockchair, the new service combats blockchain surveillance companies by highlighting privacy issues for crypto transactions....
$9M and Over 4,500 Fusions – Bitcoin Cash Supporters Anticipate the Cashfusion Audit
27.5.2020
Since November 28, 2019, the Cashfusion protocol has helped facilitate 4,583 fusions to-date with roughly 40,564 bitcoin cash ($9.1M). Cashfusion is an extension of the Cashshuffle platform and the protocol has been deemed “far more practical than other coinjoin protocols.” Bitcoin Cash...
20 Blockchain Surveillance Firms Monitor Crypto Networks, But Some Apps Show Inaccuracies
16.5.2020
During the last few years, blockchain surveillance has increased a great deal and in the early days around 2013-14, there were only a handful of firms. Now there are more than 20 blockchain analysis companies that monitor addresses, transactions, and making sure addresses are AML/CFT compliant...
3 Reports Look at North Korea’s Lazarus Group, Iran’s Farhad Exchange, and the Crypto Ponzi Futurenet
7.5.2020
On May 4, 2020, the blockchain surveillance firm Chainalysis published a three-part series covering a crypto Ponzi scheme, North Korea, and Iran’s use of digital currencies like bitcoin. The company’s research papers discuss the Poland-based crypto Ponzi called Futurenet, a hosting...