The Rogue 100: How Cryptocurrency Criminals Cash Out - Ep.156

Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CSO of Chainalysis, and Kim Grauer, head of research, discuss the company's 2020 Crypto Crime Report, which explores how cryptocurrency criminals, who perpetrate hacks and scams and send out ransomware and more, cash out. We cover how criminals are turning their illicit crypto into fiat currency, why exchanges are a prime avenue for money laundering, and how over-the-counter brokers are playing a large role. They talk about a group of OTC brokers they describe as the Rogue 100, what their transactions look like, and what can be done to help stop criminals from cashing out. Jonathan and Kim talk about the PlusToken scam, the largest Ponzi scheme in crypto and how Chainalysis determined that it was likely driving down the price of Bitcoin. They also explain the trends in exchange hacks and how the most prolific hackers have grown more sophisticated, giving some examples of how the Lazarus Group, a cybercriminal syndicate linked to the North Korean government has become more advanced. Finally, we also discuss ransomware and terrorism financing and what trends they are seeing there.
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Crypto.com: https://crypto.com
Episode links:
Chainalysis: https://www.chainalysis.com/
Jonathan Levin: https://twitter.com/jony_levin
Kim Grauer: https://twitter.com/KimberlyGrauer
Previous Unchained interview with Jonathan: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-chainalysis-helps-solve-crimes-jonathan-levin-tells-all-ep-62/
Unconfirmed episode on how Bitcoin led to the demise of the largest child porn site: https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-bitcoin-led-to-the-demise-of-the-largest-child-porn-site/
Money laundering report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/money-laundering-cryptocurrency-2019
https://fortune.com/2020/01/15/crypto-criminals-brokers-launder-billions/
Exchange hacks report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/cryptocurrency-exchange-hacks-2019
Unchained interview with Priscilla Moriuchi on why North Korea is interested in cryptocurrency: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-north-korea-is-interested-in-cryptocurrency/
Plus Token report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price
Terrorism financing report: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/terrorism-financing-cryptocurrency-2019