“Immense Novel Database May Turbocharge AI’s Comedic Crusade Against Cryptocurrency Money Laundering”
“A Vast New Data Set Could Supercharge the AI Hunt for Crypto Money Laundering”
“Ever since the Silk Road, the notorious drug marketplace in the dark web, was seized by the Feds in 2013, cryptocurrency has had a very specific bad reputation. This, despite the fact that most transactions on blockchain networks are lawful and aboveboard.”
It’s a classic trope of the modern age: all cryptocurrencies are just quick and dirty tools for shady online folks. Because who wouldn’t want their money mixed in with the likes of the Silk Road and other famous online hiding spots? That’s right, we’ve all heard the tale of how Bitcoin is the chosen currency of outlaws and rogues everywhere.
Almost a decade on from the seizure of Silk Road, it’s fair to say that dodgy reputation has somehow stuck like glue. Ignoring the fact that majority of transactions taking place in blockchain networks are, by all accounts, as law-abiding as the docking of a cruise ship.
Interestingly, artificial intelligence (AI) is now taking a stand against these common misconceptions. Enter into the arena, the AI superhero here to trace those illicit, crypto coins which were once lost in the depths of the digital world. The AI counterpart usurping the heroism we glimpsed in the movie “Taken” – with just one differentiating fact: the tangible daughter is replaced by untraceable cryptocurrency.
Once rooted in the attitude that cryptocurrency completely eliminated digital trails, law enforcement’s outlook has now shifted. Turns out, crypto markets aren’t quite the black hole for holding cash as once thought. Instead, AI is the sniffer dog that’s able to sniff out trails of currency, including the not-so-innocent ‘crypto’ variety. Wild, isn’t it?
One commendable undertaking in this department is Chainalysis, a startup strategically designed to bring accountability to the blockchain. Their toolbox? Artificial intelligence modelling. In a brilliant move beyond human capacity, this AI model tells tales of money laundering which are far too complex for mortal minds to comprehend.
So, regardless of cryptocurrency’s bad boy image, it seems AI has a new role: the sheriffs of Crypto Town. Want to indulge in scandalous online activities? Then prepare to meet your worst nightmare. Because digital trails, my friends, are not so easily snapped.
A world wherein each secretive Bitcoin transaction is traceable? That looked like a far-off fantasy yesterday. But today, we might just be catching a tantalizing glimpse of it. And it might turn out to be the wild west showdown many didn’t see coming.