from Hacker News

Chainalysis in Action: Justice Dept Demands Forfeiture of 280 Crypto Addresses

by PatrolX on 8/28/20, 4:03 PM with 54 comments

• by motohagiography on 8/28/20, 5:44 PM

  This asset forfeiture along blockchains seems like charging a restaurant for serving gangsters because their customer paid using the proceeds of crime. Except with a blockchain, it becomes like seizing assets as compensation from a vinyard that supplied the wine to the restaurant who served the gangsters, and maybe even garnishing the wages of the grape pickers to be sure.

  It's stolen money, and how can anyone be against stopping crime, except the definition of crime always seems to expand. The trouble with "justice" is it is a good for which demand is infinite, with the false implication that the price paid for it is never too high. I'd be wary of these technologies.

• by 1f60c on 8/28/20, 4:34 PM

  The official name of the complaint kind of made me laugh:

  > United States of America v. 280 virtual currency accounts

• by 8wilson on 8/28/20, 5:25 PM

  I'm a PM at Chainalysis, and the work has genuinely been has been the most interesting and impactful work of my life.

  If you're a mission driven engineer, or interested in supporting our amazing customers, we're hiring a number of positions. https://boards.greenhouse.io/chainalysis

  Feel free to contact me if you want to know more.

  matt @ chainalysis/com

• by carterklein13 on 8/28/20, 4:43 PM

  Say what you will about crypto/blockchain in general, but Chainalysis has to have one of the coolest missions out there right now. As someone who's worked in AML before, it's truly fascinating to me. If blockchain / DeFi is the "wild west" of finance right now, Chainalysis are the vigilantes.

• by Pick-A-Hill2019 on 8/28/20, 5:33 PM

  <meta name="description" content="Chainalysis helps government agencies, cryptocurrency businesses, and financial institutions engage confidently with cryptocurrency." />

  [For those that are uncomfortable allowing JS code to run from unknown websites and are thus presented with a 'This page requires JavaScript to run' blank page message].

  [Edit to explain - That is from https://www.chainalysis.com/ NOT the submitter's link]

• by ipsin on 8/28/20, 5:42 PM

  One question I have is, what could they have done to avoid such tracking?

  I thought there were more secure coins, token remixers, etc., and that if you were determined and not stuck with one exchange or (say) Bitcoin, you could muddy the waters pretty well.

• by jron on 8/28/20, 5:05 PM

  Does the DOJ refile the complaint each time the coins move?

• by arcticbull on 8/28/20, 4:46 PM

  Well if crypto isn't good for crime anymore, what all good is it? That's the one use case it had on real money.