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Laundering & ObfuscationOverview

Laundering & Obfuscation

38 notes

How illicit funds are laundered and obfuscated, and how to break them. Includes the mixers deep-dive.

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Concepts

Note
Chain Hopping / Cross-Chain Bridging
DeFi Layering
Dormancy / Time-Delay Laundering
Drainer-Kit & Known-Actor Pattern Recognition
Gambling Platform Laundering
Gather-Scatter
Mixing / Tumbling (CoinJoin)
Money Mule Networks
Nested Services / Omnibus Wallets
OTC Brokering / Underground Guarantee Markets
Peel Chain
Privacy Coin Conversion
Real-World Asset Conversion
Structuring / Smurfing
Synthetic / Shell KYC Onboarding
Tornado Cash to RenBTC Cross-Chain Laundering Pattern
Wash Trading (incl. NFTs)

Principles

Note
Single Indicator Is a Lead, Not Proof

Frameworks

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Breaking Obfuscation: Five-Part Strategy
Why Threat Actors Obfuscate: Five Motivations

Checklists

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Cross-Chain Obfuscation Categories
Off-Chain Behavioral Red-Flag Checklist
On-Chain Laundering Pattern Catalogue
On-Chain Obfuscation Categories

Cautions

Note
Monero Is the Practical Ceiling of On-Chain Attribution

Worked examples

Note
Case: Tornado Cash Round-Trip Resolved by Address Reuse

Mixers & Tumblers deep-dive

A dedicated subsection. Open the Mixers & Tumblers overview, or jump straight in:

Concepts

Note
Impact of Mixers on Financial Institutions and the Ecosystem
Legal and Regulatory Landscape for Mixers
Types of Mixers and Tumblers
Why People Use Mixers and Tumblers

Definitions

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Mixers and Tumblers

Principles

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Mixers Make Funds Harder to Find, Not Invisible

Frameworks

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What Mixers Hide and How Blockchain Analysis Uncovers It

Workflows

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How Mixers Process Funds

Tactics

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Mixing Obfuscation Techniques

Checklists

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Best Practices for Institutions Handling Mixer Risk
How Blockchain Analysis Detects Mixing Activity
Mixing Activity Red Flags
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