Top all-time · #957
Chainalysis
Company blog · blog.chainalysis.com/blogsecuritybusiness
Chainalysis is the company blog at blog.chainalysis.com, writing about security and business. Since 2017, 69 different Hacker News readers have linked it 82 times, most often “Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-30, and you can follow it by feed.
Stay informed with data-driven insights on cryptocurrency markets, regulations, and industry developments through our Chainalysis blog posts.
Most-linked posts?
- /reports/2021-crypto-crime-report-intro-ransomware-scams-darknet-markets8 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2021-01-20
- Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2022-09-17
- /reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-preview-russia-ransomware-money-laundering/3 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2022-02-23
- /reports/2021-global-crypto-adoption-index/3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2022-02-18
- /reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-introduction/3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2022-03-22
- /reports/introducing-chainalysis-investigation-compliance-support-dash-zcash2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2020-10-01
- Cryptocurrency scams cost owners $7.7B in 2021, driven by DeFi-based “rug pulls”2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2021-12-16
- U.S. insurrectionists received $500k in bitcoins from French donor2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2021-01-14
- /reports/2023-crypto-crime-report-introduction/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2023-02-24
- /reports/crypto-crime-midyear-update-2022/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-08-31
What Hacker News says?
Here's a chainalysis blog post where they say they tracked coins through CoinJoin: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-... If they convert to Monero after then it's a different thing entirely.
Comment linking /reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price
on “Hackers take over prominent Twitter accounts in simultaneous attack”Submitted Cryptocurrency scams cost owners $7.7B in 2021, driven by DeFi-based “rug pulls” as a story · 310 points
HN discussionCompanies like Chainalysis have unwound and track the large majority (probably 80%) of Bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin’s lack of fungibility and any semblance of transactional privacy is actually one of the arguments against its suitability as a currency. You can read some of their public reports here: https://blog.chainalysis.com/?tab=articles-tab
Comment linking /?tab=articles-tab
on “It's time for us in the tech world to speak out about cryptocurrency”Submitted U.S. insurrectionists received $500k in bitcoins from French donor as a story · 256 points
HN discussionI'm not OP. I looked and Chainalytics claim Venezuela is world number 3 in bitcoin use. But it's not clear what they're basing that on. My (very limited) understanding is that they can't directly see the country of origin of a bitcoin transaction. So they must be relying on figures from exchanges or apps? https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/venezuela-cryptocurrenc... Does anyone know if you can tell country of orig…
Comment linking /reports/venezuela-cryptocurrency-market-2020
on “Bitcoin is a disaster”Submitted Chainalysis in Action: Justice Dept Demands Forfeiture of 280 Crypto Addresses as a story · 42 points
HN discussion> https://lukesmith.xyz/blog Luke Smith has some interesting ideas about free software and his Linux/Vim tutorials are very good. However, he's someone who harbors a lot of racist and hateful views. Don't believe me? Watch his livestreams. His recent crusade to get many people on Monero likely stems from him getting busted[1] for accepting a $30,000 donation in Bitcoin from a French white nationalist who donated[2]…
Comment linking /reports/capitol-riot-bitcoin-donation-alt-right-domestic-extremism
on “Ask HN: Favorite Blogs by Individuals?”Submitted Criminals laundered $2.8Bs in 2019 with cryptocurrency as a story · 5 points
HN discussionDo you have a source for your claim that the majority of Bitcoin uses are criminal? Research by blockchain analysis companies show that only a small percentage of Bitcoin usage is illicit [1][2][3]. [1] https://www.elliptic.co/resources/typologies-concise-guide-c... [2] https://ciphertrace.com/2020-year-end-cryptocurrency-crime-a... [3] https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2021-crypto-crime-repor...
Comment linking /reports/2021-crypto-crime-report-intro-ransomware-scams-darknet-markets
on “U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says”Submitted Bitcoin Gains by Country: Who Benefited the Most from the 2020 Boom? as a story · 4 points
HN discussionWhen will this myth die. Do you have any evidence of this? See below a report from a firm whose task is to find bad behavior on the blockchain. Key points: - 0.34% of tx in 2020 were illicit - Of that 0.34% it is almost all scams and darknet market tx In 2021, the large darknet markets either only accept Monero or accept BTC and Monero. Large ransomware gangs like DarkSide prefer Monero (they offer discounts for it)…
Comment linking /reports/2021-crypto-crime-report-intro-ransomware-scams-darknet-markets
on “El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender”Submitted Why Bitcoin Is Surging and How This Rally Is Different from 2017 as a story · 4 points
HN discussionWe are working on an insurance product for crypto. :-( The more we dig into it the more scams we find. Everywhere. Wash trading, click baiting, pump and dump, code is law, etc. You will find the biggest bazaar there is in the crypto world. Biggest than the Nevarro bazaar. The anonymous ecosystem is a paradise for scammers and money launderers. And a terrifying "crypto lord" on Telegram or Twitter may just be your ni…
Comment linking /reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-preview-nft-wash-trading-money-laundering/
on “In second largest DeFi hack, Blockchain Bridge loses $320M Ether”Submitted Is one criminal group tanking the price of Bitcoin? as a story · 4 points
HN discussionBut if you're actually curious to know it only takes a quick search to find info about proportions of use around the world https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2021-global-crypto-adop... It's very hard to get exact numbers of users, because of how Bitcoin works, but this should give you a good sense of proportions and you could infer numbers of people based on known population sizes for each country
Comment linking /reports/2021-global-crypto-adoption-index
on “Bitcoin is a Ponzi”Submitted Interested in Buying Crypto? Here Is How to Save on Transaction Fees as a story · 4 points
HN discussion>(and also enabling things like money laundering, drug trafficking, etc.) "Darknet markets are no longer a major use of Bitcoin, accounting for less than 1% of Bitcoin transactions in 2017" https://blog.chainalysis.com/crypto-crime/
Comment linking /crypto-crime/
on “Wall Street rethinks blockchain projects as euphoria meets reality”Submitted Dissecting the DAO: Web3 Ownership Is Surprisingly Concentrated – Chainalysis as a story · 3 points
HN discussionIt happens, but it isn't "the domain" like he meant. There are hundreds of millions Bitcoin users already, and the vast majority of them are not criminals. According to Chainalysis, only 0.34% of total transaction value was criminal in 2020.[0] [0] https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2021-crypto-crime-repor...
Comment linking /reports/2021-crypto-crime-report-intro-ransomware-scams-darknet-markets
on “Cryptocurrency is something people tell lies about in hopes of getting richer”Submitted The Opportunity Before Congress on Crypto Legislation as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThe phrase 'according to the treasury' and Ctrl-V are doing a lot of work there. The government says a lot of things. The other day the Secretary of State claimed Tornado Cash was a DPRK sponsored hacking group before deleting the tweet. Not everyone in authority has a real great understanding of the technology involved. https://web.archive.org/web/20220808155413/https://twitter.c... > We are talking about an entity…
Comment linking /reports/tornado-cash-ofac-designation-sanctions/
on “GitHub deleted accounts of people who contributed to Tornado Cash repos”Submitted The Trades That Triggered UST’s Collapse as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThe percentage of cash that's used for criminal activity is much smaller than the percentage of BTC that is used for such. I'm including darknet markets, ransomware, and outright exchange thefts in this. ~170 billion USD worth of BTC exists. ~9 billion USD worth of BTC has been stolen from various exchange hacks. ~140 million USD worth of BTC has been stolen through ransomware attacks. ... And as for commercial tran…
Comment linking /reports/darknet-markets-cryptocurrency-2019
on “JPMorgan Extends Banking Services to Bitcoin Exchanges”Submitted Service Deposit Addresses Drive 55% of Money Laundering in Cryptocurrency as a story · 2 points
HN discussionYour statement isn’t really accurate. https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/defi-dexs-web3/
Comment linking /reports/defi-dexs-web3/
on “In defense of cryptocurrency”Submitted DOJ Announces Shutdown of Largest Child Pornography Website as a story · 2 points
HN discussionhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/333388187_Sex_Drugs... https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/darknet-markets-cryptoc... Anecdotally: people buy lots of drugs using cryptocurrencies. Not that I would ever do such a thing…
Comment linking /reports/darknet-markets-cryptocurrency-2019
on “The political case for a blanket cryptocurrency ban”Submitted The Train Analogy: 2X Cancelled and BTC Back on Track as a story · 2 points
HN discussionIt's worth noting your second reference only mentions illicit activity volume in passing, linking to this study as a source: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-mixer-criminal-v... It's also worth noting the headline of that link: "Crypto Mixer Usage Reaches All-time Highs in 2022, With Nation State Actors and Cybercriminals Contributing Significant Volume" Quoting from later in that study, "Overall, if we l…
Comment linking /reports/crypto-mixer-criminal-volume-2022/
on “Investors sue Treasury Department for blacklisting crypto platform Tornado Cash”Submitted Crypto Money Laundering as a story · 1 points
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