Privacy Vs. Security, Do Authorities Monitor Every Crypto Transaction?

As authorities find more and more ways to track cryptocurrencies, criminals use new techniques, and many sites remain beyond government control.

Cryptocurrencies are not anonymousBefore cryptocurrencies gained worldwide popularity, they attracted the attention of criminals who accepted Bitcoin payments in exchnage for drugs and weapons, while others used it to financing terrorism and launder money.

According to cybersecurity firm Ciphertrace, its software can track 87% of the global cryptocurrency transaction volume, which may mean that authorities can use monitoring methods not only against criminals but also against ordinary people.

One particular report for 2013-2018 shows that global authorities have confiscated over 453,000 BTC, with the U.S. alone accounting for 200,000 BTC.Sale of illegal goodsThe leader in facilitating illegal cryptocurrency transactions is the infamous darknet, a shadow marketplace where hundreds of thousands of illegal goods are sold, including drugs, weapons and crypto malware.

Later, in 2017, investigators dismantled the Coin.mx crypto exchange, the owners of which managed to illegally exchange more than $10 million in cryptocurrency.

The biggest crime that has been investigated by tracking cryptocurrency transactions is probably the laundering of 530,000 BTC stolen from the Mt. Gox exchange.

How they trackIn most cases, authorities use traditional methods for tracking cryptocurrency transactions that are no different from those used to monitor any other suspicious financial operations.

Crypto exchanges and platforms that have user data of cryptocurrency holders play an important role in the timely detection of suspicious transactions.

According to the company's website, the platform only needs the user to enter a cryptocurrency address or a transaction ID into the search bar, which auto-completes long addresses, for the system to start working.

Are cryptocurrencies as dangerous as authorities believe?Using unregulated websites entails a high risk for criminals, and the liquidity of such services is not always sufficient for laundering large amounts of money.