What do we analyze?

Suspicious sources

• ATM

Coins obtained via cryptocurrency ATM operator.

• Exchange | High Risk

An entity becomes high-risk based on the following criteria:

No KYC: does not require any customer information before allowing any level of deposit/withdrawal, or makes no attempt to verify that information.

Criminal Ties: Criminal charges against the legal entity in connection with AML/CFT violations.

Impact: High exposure to risky services such as darknet markets, other high-risk exchanges, or mixing is defined as a service whose direct high-risk exposure differs by one standard deviation from the average of all identified exchanges over a 12-month period.

Jurisdiction: based in a jurisdiction with weak AML/CFT measures.

Unlicensed: does not have any specific license to trade cryptocurrencies.

• P2P Exchange | High Risk

The entity does not have any special license to conduct and provide cryptocurrency exchange services, when participants exchange directly with each other, without intermediaries.

It also includes entities that are licensed but located in listed jurisdictions, are listed as non-cooperating companies by the FATF, or do not provide KYC for large-value transactions, making them attractive for money laundering.

• Unnamed Service

The entity does not have any special license to conduct and provide cryptocurrency exchange services, when participants exchange directly with each other, without intermediaries.

It also includes entities that are licensed but located in listed jurisdictions, are listed as non-cooperating companies by the FATF, or do not provide KYC for large-value transactions, making them attractive for money laundering.

Suspicious sources

• Exchange

The organization allows users to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies with trading licenses that include the following aspects of services:
—Depository, brokerage or other related financial services that provide exchange services where participants interact with a central party.

And it does not include:
— Licenses for non-specific financial services and jurisdictions included in the FATF non-cooperative list.

They represent the most important and most used category of entities in the cryptocurrency industry, accounting for 90% of all funds sent via these services.

• ICO

The organization that crowdfunds its project by selling their newly minted cryptocurrency to investors in exchange for fiat currency or more common cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

There are many legitimate examples of these offerings, but also there are many cases where bad actors raise funds via ICOs, then they take the money and disappear.

• Marketplace

Coins that were used to pay for legal activities

• Merchant Services

The entity that allows businesses to accept payments from their customers, also known as payment gateways or payment processors.

It often faciliates conversions to local fiat currency and transferring the funds into the merchant's bank account.

• Miner

Coins mined by miners and not forwarded yet.

• Other

Coins obtained through airdrops, token sales or other means.

• P2P Exchange

The entity is licensed to conduct a business that is specific to providing cryptocurrency exchange services where participants exchange directly with each other, without intermediaries.

It does not include non-specific financial services licenses and jurisdictions that are on the non-cooperative FATF list.

• Payment Processor

Coins related to payment services.

• Seized Assets

Crypto assets seized by the government.

• Wallet

Online Wallet is a service used for storing and transacting cryptocurrency. Hosted wallets, a type of online wallet, are custodial solutions where the service holds the user's private keys, posing potential risks of scams or insufficient security, though reputable providers may offer better security than non-expert individuals.