Crime
OFAC and South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sanction Entities Associated with North Korean Hacking and IT Worker Crypto Payment Schemes
On May 23, 2023, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
OFAC Sanctions Dubai-based Financial Services Firm and CEO for Role in Russian Sanctions Evasion, Includes Crypto Address as SDN Identifier
On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 22 individuals and 104 entities operating…
United States Sanctions and Charges Russia-based Ransomware Developer Mikhail Matveev
On May 16, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Mikhail Matveev, a Russian national…
The $80 Million Qubit Hack Likely the Work of North Korea-linked Cybercriminals
Qubit was a South Korea-based DeFi lending protocol built on the BNB chain. Qubit also ran an associated protocol, the…
DPRK Facilitators Charged and Sanctioned, Shedding Light on North Korean Crypto Money Laundering Processes
On April 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three individuals operating…
Chinese Chemical Businesses, Latin American Drug Cartel Associates Charged and Sanctioned for Bitcoin-based Sale of Fentanyl Precursors
On April 14, 2023, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned individuals and entities in China and Latin America…
Fraud Shop Genesis Market Shut Down in International Law Enforcement Operation, Sanctioned by OFAC
On April 4, 2023, authorities shut down popular fraud shop Genesis Market and arrested hundreds of its users around the…
$197 Million Stolen: Euler Finance Flash Loan Attack Explained [UPDATED 4/6/23]
New updates, 4/6/23: Hacker returns stolen funds, marking one of the largest DeFi recoveries Several weeks after the $197 million…
Oracle Manipulation Attacks are Rising, Creating a Unique Concern for DeFi
As we’ve covered previously, 2022 was the biggest year in crypto hacking history, with more than $3.8 billion stolen. However,…
How the Dutch National Police Tricked Prolific Ransomware Strain Deadbolt Into Giving Up Victim Decryption Keys
Deadbolt is a ransomware strain that first became active around January 2021, and operates very differently from other notable strains…
24% of New Tokens Launched in 2022 Bear On-Chain Characteristics of Pump and Dump Schemes
Pump and dump schemes in traditional finance are quite simple: Holders of a tradable asset, such as stock in a…
Crypto Scam Revenue Dropped 46% in 2022, While Blockchain Analysis Finds Links Between What Appear to be Distinct Scams
While scams remain the largest form of cryptocurrency-based crime (that is, if we ignore transactions associated with OFAC-sanctioned entities, which…
The U.S. and U.K. Sanction Members of Russia-Based Trickbot Cybercrime Gang
Our data shows ransomware strains related to Trickbot extorted at least $724M worth of crypto, making Trickbot the 2nd highest earning cybercrime group.
How Darknet Markets and Fraud Shops Fought for Users In the Wake of Hydra’s Collapse
2022 saw a decline in revenue from the previous year for darknet markets and fraud shops. Total darknet market revenue…
Challenges and Opportunities in Cryptocurrency Sanctions Compliance and How Blockchain Analysis Can Help
This year, the research team at Chainalysis found that illicit activity in crypto reached an all-time high in 2022. Why?…