An online future for finance is inevitable, says OCC's Brooks

Brooks considers the migration of the financial system onto the internet "inevitable." The departing leader of the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is convinced that the future of finance is blockchain-native, per a conversation with crypto analytics firm Elliptic on Wednesday. Described by Elliptic CEO Simone Maina as "a fairy godfather to the crypto industry," Brian Brooks has been a leading light in US federal policy toward crypto since taking over for Comptroller Joseph Otting in May 2020.

Proposed FinCen Rule on Crypto Wallets Would Likely Be Ineffective, Elliptic Says

In its public response to the US Treasury Department’s proposed rule, the blockchain analytics firm has argued that they are likely to be ineffective and counterproductive.

Study: Over 13% of All Proceeds of Crimes in Bitcoin Passed Through Privacy Wallets in 2020

According to a study published by the blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, over 13% of all proceeds of crime in bitcoin (BTC) were laundered via privacy wallets in 2020, up from 2% from the figures posted in 2019.

Bitcoin Privacy Wallets Increasingly Popular Among Criminals: Elliptic

At least 13% of Bitcoin crime proceeds are now laundered through privacy wallets like Wasabi, according to a new report.

Over 13% of Bitcoin Crime Proceeds Laundered Through ‘Privacy Wallets’: Elliptic

The number of crypto criminals using so-called privacy wallets to help hide their identities is on the rise, according to analytics firm Elliptic.

Darknet Markets Face Headwinds After Year of Mixed Results

Darknet markets are falling off the radar and watching their customer base level off.

$1 Billion Silk Road Bitcoin Moves for First Time in Five Years

At least 69,369 bitcoins, worth about $955 million, were on Wednesday moved from a wallet address that may be linked to the collapsed Silk Road darknet marketplace.

Nearly $1B in Bitcoin Moves From Wallet Linked to Silk Road

A wallet possibly belonging to early darknet market Silk Road moved almost $1 billion-worth of bitcoin early on Wednesday.

Elliptic announces support for Singapore Dollar-backed stablecoin - XSGD

Elliptic, the crypto-asset risk management and blockchain analytics platform, announced today that the Singapore dollar-backed stablecoin, XSGD, has been added to its crypto-risk monitoring solutions The post Elliptic announces support for Singapore Dollar-backed stablecoin - XSGD appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Kucoin Hack: $17M Laundered Via Decentralized Exchanges, Blockchain Analysis Firm Claims This Can Still be Traced

Elliptic says the Kucoin hacker has sold $17.1 million worth of tokens via decentralized exchanges (dex) platforms like Uniswap, Kyber Network, Tokenlon.

CipherTrace Outlines Regulatory Gray Zones Plaguing Booming DeFi Sector

Here's how blockchain analytics firms like CipherTrace and Elliptic are viewing DeFi and DEXs after the KuCoin hack.

One of Hal Finney's lost contributions to Bitcoin Core to be 'resurrected'

While Hal Finney may no longer be with us, one of his proposals from 2011 may soon find its way to Bitcoin thanks to an expired patent. In a February 8, 2011 post on Bitcointalk, Finney said that reading a book titled “Guide to Elliptic Curve Cryptography” by Hankerson, Menezes, and Vanstone, gave him an idea of how to speed up signature verification by 25%.

Elliptic Adds Monitoring Support for Binance Chain and BNB

Ellipitc is only the second crypto analysis company to support Binance's namesake blockchain.

Blockchain Analytics Firm Elliptic Extends Monitoring Solutions to Cover Binance Chain and BNB

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic recently extended its crypto risk monitoring solutions today by adding the Binance Chain and Binance Coin (BNB).

Elliptic can now monitor tokens on Binance Chain

Elliptic’s crypto transaction and wallet monitoring solutions can now be used to assess the risks of BEP-2 tokens, including BNB.

Elliptic Teams With Fireblocks to Automate Security and Compliance in Crypto Industry

Elliptic has joined forces with Fireblocks to automate anti-money laundering compliance for their shared institutional clients.

Elliptic Hires Former Revolut CFO as it Prepares for Asia Expansion

David MacLean will oversee the crypto tracer's finance and personnel operations.

Federal Agents Arrest Suspected 17-Year-Old Twitter Hack ‘Mastermind’ in Florida

On Friday a 17-year-old Tampa teenager was arrested in Florida for allegedly being the “mastermind” behind the July 15 Twitter hack that saw a great number of high profile accounts compromised.

LocalBitcoins Ramps Up Compliance Efforts in New Partnership With Elliptic

LocalBitcoins has partnered with blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic to gain access to new blockchain monitoring tools that can help prevent the illicit use of its services. LocalBitcoins has partnered with blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic — the latest move in the veteran peer-to-peer exchange’s fight against criminal activities on its platform. Speaking to Cointelegraph, chief operating officer at LocalBitcoins, Elena Tonoyan, said the partnership was a key step in tackling the complex challenge the platform faces.

LocalBitcoins Deploys Elliptic’s Blockchain-Powered Tracking Tools for Enhanced Surveillance

Leading peer to peer (P2P) Bitcoin trading platform LocalBitcoins has partnered with Elliptic, a global provider of crypto asset risk management solutions, to tame the headache of its illegal usage through blockchain-enabled monitoring tools.

P2P Exchange LocalBitcoins Adds Crypto Surveillance Tools From Elliptic

Elliptic's tracing software bolsters the peer-to-peer exchange's anti-money laundering safeguards.

CoolBitX and Elliptic Team Up to Offer Crypto Firms Compliance Tools

The two companies will provide a package of their respective solutions to crypto firms such as exchanges needing to stay in compliance with regulators.

Amir Taaki Knocks Bitcoin Coinjoin Schemes – Calls Methods ‘Absolute Garbage’

On July 17, the well known Dark Wallet creator and early Bitcoin developer, Amir Taaki, criticized bitcoin privacy methods on Twitter.

CoolBitX Partnering with Elliptic to Address FATF’s Travel Rule

CEO Michael Ou says Elliptic’s wallet screening tools with CoolBitX’s Sygna Bridge could help firms comply with the FATF travel rule. FinTech company CoolBitX may have a solution for countries that have not yet complied with the Financial Action Task Force’s “travel rule”.  According to a statement from CoolBitX shared with Cointelegraph on July 21, the blockchain security company announced it would be partnering with cryptocurrency forensics firm Elliptic to address anti-money laundering (AML) regulations for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in accordance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) travel rule.  VASPs will have access to both Sygna Bridge — the solution proffered by CoolBitX — and Elliptic’s crypto transaction and wallet screening tools to comply with the travel rule’s AML guidelines. “As the Financial Action Task Force continues to push its cryptocurrency guidance across the globe, compliance and preventing criminal activity can feel extremely daunting for VASPs,” said Michael Ou, CEO of CoolBitX.

Here’s How Twitter Hackers Are Trying to Hide Their Trail of Stolen Bitcoin (BTC)

Elliptic, a company that traces illicit crypto transactions, says Twitter hackers are already on the move to hide their trail of stolen Bitcoin (BTC).

Stolen Bitcoin from Twitter hack is already being laundered: report

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reports that roughly 22% of the $120,000 worth of Bitcoin stolen in Wednesday’s Twitter hack has been sent to a Wasabi wallet.

Twitter Hacker Is Mixing Bitcoin Loot Using a Wasabi Wallet, Elliptic Says

According to the crypto analytics firm, 2.89 bitcoin associated with Wednesday’s security breach was moved to a Wasabi wallet late last night.

IRS Seeks Elliptic’s Crypto Tracing Software in Response to COVID-19

President Donald J. Trump invoked the Stafford act in March, authorizing federal agency funding.

This Researcher Says Bitcoin’s Elliptic Curve Could Have a Secret Backdoor

According to one of the world’s leading cryptographers, Bitcoin’s elliptic curve could have a secret backdoor, invalidating all underlying security. One of the world’s top cryptographers believes that Satoshi Nakamoto chose Bitcoin’s (BTC) elliptic curve either for its efficiency or because it may offer a secret backdoor. Elliptic curve is worth $ billions A Bitcoin public key is created by applying elliptic curve cryptography to the private key.

Elliptic Follows Chainalysis in Adding Zcash to Monitoring Platform

Elliptic, the blockchain analysis company, has added privacy coins zcash and horizen to its monitoring platform.

LocalBitcoins Says Its Transactions From Darknet Markets Dropped 70%

LocalBitcoins claims that darknet-related transactions on the platforum dropped 70% after it adopted AML and KYC regulations in September 2019. LocalBitcoins, a major peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange, has purportedly managed to significantly cut the amount of criminal funds on its platform in 2020. The P2P platform has seen a decline of over 70% in transactions from darknet markets between September 2019 and May 2020, LocalBitcoins claims. Jukka Blomberg, chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, told Cointelegraph that the drop comes in response to Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations adopted by the platform in September 2019. The calculations are based on blockchain analysis by major crypto analytics firm Elliptic as well as LocalBitcoins’ own “clustering tools,” the firm said. The drop is still notable despite Bitcoin trading collapse in 2019 A 70% drop in darknet-associated transactions might appear insignificant as LocalBitcoins experienced a massive decline in the amount of traded Bitcoin (BTC) in 2019.

Bitcoin ATM Growth May Be a Boon for Money Launderers

Crypto analytics company CipherTrace found bitcoin ATMs are increasingly being used to send funds to "high-risk exchanges" suspected of facilitating illicit activity.