Process and analysis
What is Blockchain analysis?
Tracing cryptocurrency transactions across public blockchains to follow stolen or illicit funds and link addresses to services or people.
Blockchain analysis follows the movement of cryptocurrency across public ledgers. Every transaction is visible, so analysts can trace funds from a theft or ransom payment through wallets, mixers and bridges until they reach a service, such as an exchange, that knows its customers.
The work relies on clustering heuristics that group addresses likely controlled by the same entity and on labelled data about known services. It is a key tool for recovering funds and attributing crypto crime.