March 28, 2024

UK will use blockchain analytics to fight cybercrime

UK will use blockchain analytics to fight cybercrime

The UK tax office wants to implement a blockchain analytics tool to simplify the identification of cybercriminals using cryptocurrency.

Department of Revenue and Customs DutiesMajesty (HMRC) plans to use it to track the transactions of digital currencies, which are most often chosen for tax evasion and money laundering.

In particular, HMRC is looking for a solution that would allow monitoring of at least seven cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic and USDT.However, the department is even more interested in technology that will help track confidential coins such as Monero, Zikesh, and Dash.

The tax service is ready to spend £ 100,000 on licensing a suitable tool and hopes to sign a contract with a potential solution developer before February 17.

According to HMRC, the problem of tracking criminalactivities via blockchain is that, despite the availability of public access to transactions, the participants carrying them out usually do not compromise themselves. Therefore, the tax department needs a data collection tool to identify and cluster transactions in order not only to track the movement of funds, but also to identify those involved in illegal trafficking.

Great Britain started very closelymonitor the crypto industry. In 2019, the number of investigations by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) related to the cryptocurrency business increased by 74%.

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