Blockchain analysis is becoming a lot more popular these days. A fair few firms are looking for ways to analyze public blockchains and potentially crack down on illicit activity involving cryptocurrencies. It seems US agencies are showing increasing interest in this technology as well, which is not that big of a surprise.
US Agencies Embrace Chainalysis and Others
As we discussed in a previous article, various US agencies have shown a big interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain analysis. A lot of these agencies rely on Chainalysis for their analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain. Even though there is a lot more to cryptocurrencies, it has become evident that the connection between Bitcoin and crime will not be going away anytime soon.
A new report from Diar showcases an interesting trend in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain analysis. It seems there are a lot more US agencies tapping Chainalysis for this particular service nowadays, which is both a good and a bad thing. Moreover, there is growing concern over how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are being used by criminals. Cracking down on this type of activity remains a top priority for the time being.
No one will be surprised to learn that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is one of Chainalysis’s biggest clients as of right now, having purchased a fair few orders for Bitcoin detection services since 2015. The IRS is also showing a growing interest in Bitcoin holders, which became even more apparent when the agency tried to obtain personal information from Coinbase. The FBI is also among the top three, even though one would expect that agency to have its own dedicated analysis unit.
The DEA, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, SEC, and CFTC are all utilizing Chainalysis as well. None of these names are big surprises by any means, yet it does go to show there is a bright future ahead for any company offering such services. All of these US agencies are using this firm’s tools to detect very different activities, ranging from money laundering to darknet use, human trafficking, ICOs, and scams.
It will be interesting to see how this situation evolves in the near future. It has become evident that demand for blockchain analysis services will not be slowing down anytime soon, as various other firms have raised significant amounts of funding as well. Elliptic, BitFury, Scorechain, and Coinfirm are just some examples. Analyzing the Bitcoin blockchain is not all that difficult, as the technology clearly lacks privacy and anonymity features.
With companies such as BitFury entering the blockchain analysis game as well, things will be getting pretty interesting moving forward. Rest assured there will be an increased interest in this technology, which will eventually benefit the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. After all, a lot of people want to get rid of the illegal aspect of Bitcoin and altcoins, and these firms are making it a lot more difficult for people to hide their nefarious activities.
