Public Key

John Randles, the CEO of Siren with a focus on data-driven investigations, speaks with Ian Andrews, CMO of Chainalysis, a leader in combating crypto crime. They discuss the urgent need for modern technology in law enforcement to tackle increasingly sophisticated crimes. Randles explains how their investigative platform integrates data from blockchain and social media, highlighting challenges like outdated tech and recruitment bottlenecks. The conversation also touches on the evolution of criminal tactics and the role of AI in enhancing investigative capabilities.

Vijay Chetty, CEO of Eclipse Labs and a crypto veteran with experience at Uniswap and Ripple, joins Ian Andrews, CMO of Chainalysis, to discuss groundbreaking innovations in blockchain. They dive into the creation of Ethereum's first Solana Virtual Machine Layer 2, focusing on its potential to enhance transaction speed and throughput. Vijay shares insights on transitioning app developers between Solana and Eclipse, and explores the future of decentralized finance while balancing regulatory challenges in an evolving market.

Ever wonder what goes into taking down the world’s biggest ransomware group. Well in this episode   Ian Andrews (CMO, Chainalysis) speaks to  Phil Larratt (Director of Investigations, Chainalysis) and William Lyne (Head of Cyber Intelligence, National Crime Agency (NCA)), who share how UK law enforcement along with their International partners were able to infiltrate and eventually shutdown the most prolific ransomware ecosystem, LockBit. The trio discuss LockBit, the major ransomware-as-a-service threat and provide a detailed account of Operation Cronos, a sophisticated takedown that compromised LockBit’s system and eventually led to the takedown of their operations Phil and William explain the intricacies of crypto tracing, International law enforcement collaboration, and the innovative tactics used to protect victims and hinder cybercrimes, like ransomware. This is one of the few episodes that provides a riveting inside look at one of the most significant crypto ransomware operations to date and the ripple effects on the larger cybercrime ecosystem. Minute-by-minute episode breakdown 2 | William Lyne’s background going from Astro-Physics into Cyber Crime at NCA 4 | Introduction to Phil Larratt and unpacking a 100 Million Pound “Vishing” fraud case  8 | The scale of the LockBit Ransomware syndicate and affiliates 14 | Operation Cronos and how law enforcement infiltrated an entire ransomware ecosystem  18 | Blockchain intelligence’s role in fighting cyber crimes like ransomware 23 | Government’s covert operations against ransomware hackers 27 | The impact on the ransomware ecosystem post-LockBit takedown  30 | New UK Law enhances crypto asset seizure capabilities to fight cyber crime  Related resources Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key. Website: National Crime Agency (NCA): The deployment of ransomware remains the greatest cyber serious and organised crime threat to the UK News: Operation Cronos: International investigation disrupts the world’s most harmful cyber crime group Project: RUSI:  Ransomware Harms and the Victim Experience Blog: U.S. and U.K. Disrupt Lockbit Ransomware Group and Indict Two Russian Nationals While OFAC Levies Sanctions Announcement: Announcing Chainalysis’ 2024 U.S. Public Sector Customer Awards Program Report: Chainalysis Money Laundering and Cryptocurrency Report (Available Now) Report: [REPORT PREVIEW] Malign Interference and Crypto: How Crypto Transaction Tracing Can Expose and Disrupt Malign Influence Efforts YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchain Tik Tok: Building trust in #blockchains among people, businesses, and governments. Telegram: Chainalysis on Telegram  Speakers on today’s episode Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis)  William Lyne (Head of Cyber Intelligence, National Crime Agency (NCA)) Phil Larratt (Director of Investigations, Chainalysis)  This website may contain links to third-party sites that are not under the control of Chainalysis, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively “Chainalysis”). Access to such information does not imply association with, endorsement of, approval of, or recommendation by Chainalysis of the site or its operators, and Chainalysis is not responsible for the products, services, or other content hosted therein. Our podcasts are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to provide legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Listeners should consult their own advisors before making these types of decisions. Chainalysis has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with your use of this material. Chainalysis does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information in any particular podcast and will not be responsible for any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies of any part of such material.  Unless stated otherwise, reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Chainalysis. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Chainalysis employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company.

With the evolution and the capabilities of AI and the questioning of authenticity during the time of Presidential elections, it is getting increasingly more important that data and files are unable to be corrupted and not controlled by a centralized party. In this episode,  Ian Andrews (CMO, Chainalysis) speaks with renowned cryptocurrency and civil liberties attorney, Marta Belcher (President & Chair, Filecoin Foundation). It's a timely discussion that traverses the innovations and societal impacts of decentralized technologies and how Filecoin and IPFS’s decentralized storage solutions are at the forefront of what could be an International shift to securing information. Marta provides exclusive insights into the incredible collaboration with Lockheed Martin deploying IPFS in space and she shares her insights on the recent advances in crypto policy, discussing the importance of the FIT21 bill and the complexities of privacy and content moderation in the digital age. Minute-by-minute episode breakdown 2 | Marta Belcher's journey into Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and civil liberties  4 | Introduction to IPFS and the benefits of decentralized file storage 12 | Understanding the scale of Filecoin and the amount of data and type of data being stored 16 | Filecoin and IPFS technology demonstrated in space with Lockheed Martin 21 | Dealing with decentralized content moderation on web3 platforms  27 | Crypto policy shifts and legal battles unfolding in USA with the FIT21 Bill and the introduction of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act  31 | Insights into the debate on privacy vs. anonymity when it relates to cryptocurrency    Related resources Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key. Website: Filecoin Foundation: On a mission to preserve humanity’s most important information Website: Filecoin: Decentralized storage network designed to store humanity’s most important information Article: Marta Belcher: Reframing Privacy for the Digital Age Article: Transcript Audio: Elizabeth Warren's New Financial Surveillance Bill Is a Disaster for Privacy and Civil Liberties Report: Chainalysis Money Laundering and Cryptocurrency Report (Available Now) Report: [REPORT PREVIEW] Malign Interference and Crypto: How Crypto Transaction Tracing Can Expose and Disrupt Malign Influence Efforts YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchain Tik Tok: Building trust in #blockchains among people, businesses, and governments Telegram: Chainalysis on Telegram Speakers on today’s episode Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis)  Marta Belcher (President & Chair, Filecoin Foundation) This website may contain links to third-party sites that are not under the control of Chainalysis, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively “Chainalysis”). Access to such information does not imply association with, endorsement of, approval of, or recommendation by Chainalysis of the site or its operators, and Chainalysis is not responsible for the products, services, or other content hosted therein. Our podcasts are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to provide legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Listeners should consult their own advisors before making these types of decisions. Chainalysis has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with your use of this material. Chainalysis does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information in any particular podcast and will not be responsible for any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies of any part of such material.  Unless stated otherwise, reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Chainalysis. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Chainalysis employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company.

Ian Andrews from Chainalysis and Dima Romanov from Layer N discuss blockchain scalability, web3 vs. web2 mindset, XVMs, and Layer N's upcoming mainnet launch in the crypto space. They delve into challenges with Solana and Ethereum, securing investment from Founders Fund, and enhancing performance for developers and users

Lindsey Argalas, CEO of TaxBit, discusses tax and accounting innovations in the digital asset space. They cover IRS regulations, EU regulatory frameworks, real-world asset tokenization implications, and TaxBit's collaborations. Insights on crypto tax obligations, compliance hurdles, and the evolving landscape of digital assets are shared in this engaging podcast episode.

Jackie Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, discusses collaboration with government agencies, fighting cryptocurrency crime, the Colonial Pipeline ransomware case, and AI's impact on cybersecurity. She highlights Chainalysis' role in enhancing blockchain safety, combating criminal activities, and stabilizing the crypto industry long-term. The episode also delves into the importance of effective collaboration between technology and government agencies, and the challenges new technologies like AI face from malicious actors.

Brian Pak, Co-founder of ChainLight, discusses Web3 hacks, white hat hacking ethics, and the emergence of law enforcement engagement. Topics include Ethereum bugs, DART for identifying memecoin trends, South Korean crypto politics, and security measures in the Web3 ecosystem.

Ian Andrews, CMO of Chainalysis, and Naresh Nagia, Senior Advisor at Deloitte, discuss tokenization disrupting traditional finance. Topics include DLT benefits, smart contracts, wholesale CBDC preference, and Project Agora for cross-border payments.

“You might think it's risky now to enter crypto. But I can promise you that time is going to flip very quickly where it's going to be risky not to enter crypto” - Farzam Ehsani Capital controls and Government bans have always made launching a crypto exchange in Africa challenging and in this episode, Ian Andrews (CMO, Chainalysis) sits down with Farzam Ehsani (Co-founder and CEO, VALR), who discusses the journey of South Africa's largest cryptocurrency exchange,from the company's inception in 2018 to securing multiple global licenses. Farzam shares insights on financial sovereignty, regulatory challenges, and the evolving crypto landscape, while reflecting on transitioning from banking to crypto and underscores the importance of integrity and choice in finance. He announces The VALR Grand Slam trading competition, where there is a $60 Million USDT prize pool and  looks forward to  expanding VALR's global footprint and making cryptocurrencies more accessible through innovative financial solutions. Minute-by-minute episode breakdown 2 | Farzam’s introduction to Bitcoin and how it helped him understand the traditional finance ecosystem   4 | The balance of self sovereignty and acting as a custodial crypto exchange  7 | How traditional banks decided to move into crypto and the launch of VALR crypto exchange 15 | The rigorous process of obtaining licenses in multiple jurisdictions and adhering to international regulatory requirements and capital controls 25 | Understanding whether VALR is appealing to retail or institutional clients or both  30 | Is VALR launching its own exchange token or security token? 33 | The challenges with listing tokens and keeping up with customer demand on memecoins   36 | VALR raises $50 million in Africa’s largest ever crypto raise and even turned away investors 38 | VALR announces $60 Million Grand Slam of Trading Competitions Related resources Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key. Website: VALR: Trade spot, margin, futures & OTC on the best crypto trading platform Video: Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town Conference (Farzam Ehsani "Truth" Talk) Article: Coindesk: The False Promise Blockchains Will Revolutionize Real-World Assets Blog: Exploring Crypto Adoption in Africa: Growth and Barriers Programme: VALR $60 Million Grand Slam of Trading Competitions Blog: Cryptocurrency Penetrates Key Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa as an Inflation Mitigation and Trading Vehicle Event: TraceDC (Early Bird Ticket Prices available until June 15, 2024) Blog: Introduction to Zero-Knowledge Proofs YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchain Tik Tok: Building trust in #blockchains among people, businesses, and governments. Telegram: Chainalysis on Telegram  Speakers on today’s episode Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis)  Farzam Ehsani (Co-founder and CEO, VALR) This website may contain links to third-party sites that are not under the control of Chainalysis, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively “Chainalysis”). Access to such information does not imply association with, endorsement of, approval of, or recommendation by Chainalysis of the site or its operators, and Chainalysis is not responsible for the products, services, or other content hosted therein. Our podcasts are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to provide legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Listeners should consult their own advisors before making these types of decisions. Chainalysis has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with your use of this material. Chainalysis does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information in any particular podcast and will not be responsible for any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies of any part of such material.  Unless stated otherwise, reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Chainalysis. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Chainalysis employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company.