Antinalysis, a blockchain analytics tool used by criminals, was shut down by the authorities

A popular blockchain service on the dark web to check the legitimacy of the bitcoin wallet was recently shut down by the regulators.

Several reports from media show that a popular blockchain tool that was being used by crypto launderers to test their funds’ connection to crime has been shut down permanently now. The service was known as Analysis, and it was reportedly very popular on the dark web. This tool allowed users to check their bitcoin link to criminal activities. Founder and Chief Scientist of Elliptic, Dr. Tom Robinson, has stated that criminals were starting to find loopholes to overcome the challenges posed by blockchain analytics, and Antinalysis was the first to help the criminals with the same.

The site of Antinalysis was discovered by Robinson last week, and he had mentioned this in his blog post. This, however, caught the attention of the regulators, who shut down the service. The tools are generally helpful for investigators to deal with crypto-related activities, but in the wrong hands, the tools are being misused by the money launderers to identify whether the funds will lead back to them or indicate their criminal background. Incognito was the developer behind Antinalysis, and it has several other services, too, like the Incognito Market. The software runs on Tor, which is a network that allows users to browse the dark web anonymously.

 

The EU regulators are striving hard to regulate crypto to prevent financial crimes

 

The anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) regulation in Europe and globally have gone through various structural changes in the last few years. The penetration of illicit funds and high-end money laundering schemes have now managed to get the attention of the public and regulators. The most notable example is the Wirecard scandal which revealed that several shell companies were involved in the illegal distribution of pornography and narcotics. As financial institutions and regulators tend to expand their knowledge on criminal practices, the AML requirements are also expected to be improved. In most cases, these trials have been reactive overwhelmingly, and it is mostly a trial-by-fire process.

The European Union has now started to introduce more rigid regulations to meet the ever-evolving challenges in blockchain, and it is also striving hard to improve the licensing model. Most of the countries are now trying to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies, and Germany is way ahead of others and is leading from the front. The regulatory bodies must also evolve along with the cryptos and financial crimes to address, monitor, and enforce regulations. FATF is the most popular monitoring body, which is well-known for outlining the general guidance for cryptocurrencies.

 

Microsoft to Use the Ethereum Blockchain to Prevent Piracy

Tech giant Microsoft in a recent announcement has stated that it is planning to use the Ethereum blockchain to combat digital piracy by relying on the network's transparent and decentralized nature. The Redmond-based company is now concentrating on new concrete system named Argus, which Microsoft dubbed as the "first public anti-piracy system."

Microsoft along with other researchers from Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba and Carnegie Mellon University has recently laid out the design, implementation, and evaluation of the new system. Microsoft has said that Argus will be running on a public blockchain to allow digital piracy informers to remain anonymous while maintaining a great level of transparency for the wider public at the same time.

Argus will be protecting the identity of the informers and it will also allow the firm to backtrack the source of the pirated content. Furthermore, by optimizing various cryptographic operations, the cost for piracy reporting will be "reduced to an equivalent cost of sending about 14 ETH-transfer transactions," the company added, contrary to the typically transaction fees for which Ethereum is known for.