Chainalysis: Decoding Current State of Crypto Crime and Future of Crypto Compliance & Security

1/ Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager (@gronager) joined Circle's Dante Disparte (@ddisparte) for an insightful fireside chat at REDeFiNE TOMORROW 2024, SCB 10X's global DeFi & Web3 virtual summit, to discuss the current state of crypto crime and the future of crypto compliance & security.
2/ Gronager highlighted that the transparency of the crypto economy allows for a more precise view of how the economy works, reflecting what happens in the world. Crypto serves as a good monitor for crime levels and the best avenue to solve them.
3/ The increased adoption of mobile phones and CCTV cameras has led to more crimes being recorded, but it doesn't necessarily mean there are more incidents. Similarly, more recorded crimes on crypto doesn't equate to an increase in crimes. Crypto provides transparency.
4/ Gronager emphasized that privacy in transactions is different from anonymity. Privacy can be achieved through institutions in crypto, similar to how banks operate in traditional finance. Coinbase, for example, provides financial privacy to its users.
5/ The decline in the total value of illicit activity in crypto from $40 billion in 2022 to $24 billion in 2023 can be attributed to the slowdown in the crypto economy and increased compliance efforts by major players in the industry.
6/ Gronager believes that the growth in the emerging bull market is largely driven by institutional investors entering the crypto space. Stablecoins, which account for more than 70% of the volume moved on blockchains, are playing a significant role in this growth.
7/ Stablecoins are creating new rails for traditional finance, enabling fast settlements and cross-border transactions. This is an institutional play, helping companies settle trade contracts globally.
8/ Gronager predicts that in the next 2-5 years, stablecoins will continue to grow and become a settlement mechanism used by payment processors and banks. Banks will start accepting deposits and withdrawals in stablecoins, speeding up transactions.
9/ The proliferation of blockchains and wallet providers doesn't make Chainalysis' job harder. The company has built abstraction layers to support all blockchains, automating the process of plugging in new chains and tokens.
10/ Gronager believes that while controversial uses and innovations in technology will always exist, mixing technologies and anonymizing services like Tornado Cash don't solve a real problem. The claimed problem of privacy is already solved through institutions in the crypto space.
11/ Crypto has become pervasive, with a high likelihood of at least one person in a group of 2-10 people touching crypto. This growth is largely driven by stablecoins, enabling crypto to become a good proxy for the real economy.
12/ Gronager emphasizes that crypto's transparency makes it an excellent lens for studying the economy and solving international crime. Law enforcement can now investigate crime syndicates operating across various countries more effectively thanks to stablecoins and Chainalysis products.
13/ Gronager concludes by stating that while Chainalysis was initially put on the globe to keep the blockchain safe, they now feel that their mission is to keep the world safe.
14/ As the crypto industry continues to evolve, it is crucial for stakeholders to collaborate and leverage the transparency of blockchain technology to combat illicit activities and foster a safe and compliant environment for users and institutions alike.
15/ Follow Chainalysis at @chainalysis and Circle at @circle to follow this conversation.

[@buckrickard]

Thank you so much for this amazing video! A bit off-topic, but I wanted to ask: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (air carpet target dish off jeans toilet sweet piano spoil fruit essay). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?

[@HieuBalderas]

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