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Bitcoin transactions are being tracked on blockchain, according to an assistant director of a US government agency.
According to CNBC, the U.S. Secret Service has taken more than $100 million worth of digital assets from criminals over the past seven years as part of fraud investigations.
For the past year and a half, the federal agency has dealt with about 254 instances and has seen favorable results, and it has no plans to stop anytime soon.
Bitcoin transactions are tracked by the secret agency on the blockchain, it has been revealed.
Agents and analysts from the agency's Assistant Director of Investigations David Smith believe that the agency's successes are due to how many people actively monitor Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies' movement on blockchains.
The Secret Service, a government agency most known for its work protecting US presidents, has adopted a strategy that has echoes of more traditional forms of monitoring.
While tracking an email address is akin to following a digital currency wallet, Smith noticed that there are many similarities.
“Once a person and another person make a transaction, and that gets into the blockchain, we have the ability to follow that email address or wallet address, if you will, and trace it through the blockchain.”
Also, one of the advantages of crypto appears to have made it a potent tool in the hands of these criminals. As Smith explained,
“One of the things about cryptocurrency is it moves money at a faster pace than the traditional format.”
Some of the agency's cases have been handled.
More than 900 victims were targeted in an investigation conducted by the agency.
When the Romanian National Police investigated this case, they discovered a scam including the posting of fake luxury goods and adverts on auction sites, followed by the delivery of bogus invoices to their victims to make it appear as though the transaction was taking place between legal businesses.
A portion of the now-seized cash were allegedly turned into digital assets by the scheme's perpetrators, according to the Secret Service.
When dealing with Russian cybercrime syndicates and Bitcoin ransomware payments, the agency also investigated the usage of a crypto exchange to launder their proceeds.
Seizures of cryptocurrency in the United States
There have been many other federal agencies that have made significant contributions toward cleaning up the crypto realm, but the US Secret Service has been one of the most outspoken about its work in this regard.
Due to the swath of seizures, the United States is now the third-largest owner of Bitcoin, behind Grayscale and Microstrategy, with a total value of nearly $4 billion.
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