May 29, 2018

Jonathan Levin, cofounder and chief operating officer for blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, describes how the company was born out of questions he had while a grad student, how they began mapping the Bitcoin blockchain to certain entities, and how their customers, which include government agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS, Europol and others, use Chainalysis to help solve Bitcoin crimes. He also reveals what level of detail the software tracks, how privacy coins could affect their work, and what new developments in the technology could decrease current crimes, such as physical extortion of crypto holders. Plus, he answers the question of whether or not Chainalysis's work destroys the fungibility of Bitcoin.

Chainalysis: http://chainalysis.com/

Jonathan Levin: https://twitter.com/jony_levin

Chainalysis report on the changing nature of crypto crime: https://www.chainalysis.com/static/Cryptocrime_Report_V2.pdf

Forbes article on Chainalysis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/04/05/snooping-on-bitcoin-is-big-business/#234e6792d198

Usage of Chainalysis by IRS: https://www.thedailybeast.com/irs-now-has-a-tool-to-unmask-bitcoin-tax-cheats

Threats of violence against bitcoin and other crypto holders: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/technology/virtual-currency-extortion.html

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