Crypto often makes mainstream headlines for the wrong reasons, but beneath the surface lies a story of innovation, resilience and a community working to build a safer financial future.
This weekโs episode of the Clear Crypto Podcast, brought to you by StarkWare and Cointelegraph, takes a hard look at one of the most pressing, and misunderstood, issues in digital assets: crime in the crypto ecosystem.
Crypto crime reality check
While mainstream headlines often associate blockchain with hacks, scams and fraud, the reality is more complex.ย
Guest Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs and a former U.S. federal prosecutor, joined host Nathan to cut through the perception gap.ย
โThe reality is that weโve seen real scam activity in the crypto ecosystem over the last two years, about 50 billion in scams and fraud,โ he said.
โBut illicit activity still makes up about 1% of all activity within the crypto ecosystem. So weโre talking about 99% lawful activityโ
For Redbord, the takeaway is clear: Crypto is not inherently flawed, but like any transformative technology, it attracts opportunistic actors.
Related: DC attorney general sues Athena Bitcoin over alleged hidden fees
ย โBad actors are always early adopters of transformative technology, and cryptocurrency and blockchain are just that,โ he said. โThe promise of cryptocurrency is cross-border value transfer at the speed of the internet โฆ but you know who else likes to move funds faster and in larger amounts is bad actorsโ
Still, the same transparency that enables illicit use also gives investigators powerful tools. He emphasized:ย
โEvery transaction is traceable, trackable and immutable on a public ledger. And that means we can do compliance. We can do investigations better than we ever could before.โ
Privacy, security, innovation
The discussion also explored how privacy and security can coexist through innovation. Redbord pointed to โzero knowledge proofs, around privacy pools, around digital identityโ as examples of technologies.ย
He said zk-proofs โallow us to thread that needle between ensuring lawful users of this technology have the privacy they need, but also stopping bad actors like North Korea who threaten the ecosystem.โ
Despite the challenges, Redbord stressed optimism:ย
โWhat keeps me so positive is the people I get to interact with every day โฆ this incredible community of compliance professionals, law enforcement and builders.โ
To hear the complete conversation on the Clear Crypto Podcast, listen to the full episode on Cointelegraphโs Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And donโt forget to check out Cointelegraphโs full lineup of other shows!ย
Magazine: Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express
