Fisanick Managing Editor E. Alden Pelker, Christopher B. Pollak, Douglas D. Costantini Note From the Editor-in-Chief Tucker Senior Vice President, Legal, Privacy and Regulatory CLEAR Despite a growing and evolving legitimate user base, cryptocurrency—like cash—remains a popular means by which a wide range of criminal activities are funded and the proceeds of such activities are distributed. This article is meant to complement the recently published Department of Justice Department Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework and build on the highly useful article that appeared in the Cybercrime and Cyber Threats edition of this journal: Attribution in Cryptocurrency Cases.
At the same time, however, the blockchain analysis tools available to law enforcement— many provided by third-party vendors—have become increasingly powerful and effective.
This article seeks to survey the state of blockchain analysis in federal criminal investigations and to explore approaches for leveraging that analysis, both in the initial stages of an investigation and, far more interestingly, at trial.
Korver, et al. The second section describes how blockchain analysis can be used at the start of an investigation or in search warrant affidavits and other criminal process to advance such an investigation.
The third and final section discusses ways to admit blockchain evidence at trial, as well as important considerations when admitting such evidence, including approaches to satisfying discovery obligations. Introduction and background A. What is a blockchain? First, some necessary vocabulary and background: Cryptocurrency, a type of virtual currency, is a decentralized, peer-to-peer, network-based medium of value or exchange. Each address is a representation of a public key and has a corresponding private key that controls the ability to spend funds associated with the address.
