The Buzz with ACT-IAC

Tracing Theft on the Blockchain with Josephine Wolff

March 22, 2022 Episode 48
The Buzz with ACT-IAC
Tracing Theft on the Blockchain with Josephine Wolff
Show Notes

In February of this year, the DOJ made the largest financial seizure in the department's history - $3.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency that had been stolen from the Bitfinex crypto exchange nearly 6 years earlier. They traced the laundered money through a complex web of currency swaps, darknet markets, and fiat bank accounts, all of which led them to arrest NYC-based couple Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein.

While the outcome of this case is touted as a win for law enforcement over cybercriminals, it also reveals a lot about the state of cryptocurrency in the United States - fractured regulatory schemes, technical complexities, even the idiosyncratic culture that surrounds it.

This week, The Buzz is joined by Josephine Wolff, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, to discuss what the arrests of Morgan and Lichtenstein show about crypto's place in financial crime and how law enforcement and regulators can respond. 

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Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound