How Chainalysis has transformed the way Crypto Criminals into large corporations
Jonathan Levin meets Oxford scholars with his beard, glasses and feathered English accents. And certainly, that was when he had a conversation in the pub, it was a night. Bitcoin And eventually he drew him into a global web of police, hitmen and cybercrime. today, Levin is the CEO The origins he shared in the latest episode of Fortune’s Crypto Playbook Podcast with Chain Orisis, one of the world’s outstanding crypto forensic companies.
When Levin co-founded Chain Melt in 2014, most people hadn’t heard of Bitcoin yet, and had far less understanding of how blockchain works. That included almost every single law enforcement agency. But that began to change when special agents began investigating so-called dark websites where they could purchase and pay for various illegal goods and services for use of Bitcoin.
Soon, Levin’s startup had its first client. It is a US agency known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. ATF agents asked Levin to come from the UK and take the indelible path to the left as Bitcoin (from anonymous foul) moved from wallet to wallet, providing clues about the location and often criminal identity.
Chainalysis’ support helped track down the steps that were to become hitman and helped the company land the initial contract. This says Levin was paid as a credit card fee, not as part of a full-scale contract. But when the startup showed law enforcement how its tracing tools could help identify perpetrators of Mt Gox Hack, the business really took off.
“We helped them understand where the money went, and when they realised that the money was actually stolen from the exchange, obviously, US law enforcement is very interested in figuring out where the money went and how it was washed,” recalls Levin.
Today, Chain Orisis has teams on the ground in over 30 countries and works with around 330 government agencies around the world. The company also has a thriving business line that caters to the private sector, is compliant and helps to move bad guys away from the platform more generally. All of this puts us in a position to help Chain Melt raise more than $536 million in funding, achieve a multi-billion dollar valuation and make it public.
The world of Crypto has changed dramatically since Levin helped ATF agents chase Hitman on Dark Web. Most obviously, it is not considered a tool primarily for criminals, but instead it is considered a mainstream technology used by banks, brokerage companies and Fortune 500 companies. However, the criminal element still remains, and the tactics of bad actors are more refined. In other words, blockchain detective work for companies like chain analysis is more essential than ever.
To hear a full interview with Levin and a wider history of criminals and codes, check out the entire Crypto Playbook episode Spotify, apple or YouTube.