How Bitcoin Led to the Demise of the Largest Child Porn S...

What this episode covers

Jonathan Levin, the cofounder and chief strategy officer of Chainalysis, describes how the blockchain analytics firm helped the IRS identify the administrator of the largest child porn website in the world, which ultimately led to the arrest of the administrator, Jong Woo Son, and 337 site users across 38 countries. The work also led to the rescue of 23 minors from their abusers. He describes how the site used Bitcoin, how they used Bitcoin transactions to identify the users of the site, and how law enforcement worked with exchanges. We also discuss what impact privacy technologies could have on similar investigations going forward, as well as Levin's perspective on the overall utility of Bitcoin despite it being used for illicit activity. Thank you to our sponsors! CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained Crypto.com: http://crypto.com eToro: http://etoro.com Newsletter: Get Laura’s newsletter on the top crypto stories of the week’s plus a preview of exclusive podcast content! Signup Here: http://eepurl.com/ga8ub5 Episode links: Chainalysis: https://www.chainalysis.com/ Jonathan Levin: https://twitter.com/jony_levin DOJ press release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/south-korean-national-and-hundreds-others-charged-worldwide-takedown-largest-darknet-child Chainalysis blog post: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/chainalysis-doj-welcome-to-video-shutdown Indictment against Jong Woo Son, the administrator of Welcome to Video: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1210441/download Bitcoin laundering: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1210461/download Bitcoin exchanges Welcome to Video recommended + screenshots: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1210451/download Screenshot of the site seized: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1210446/download Joe Weisenthal’s column about how Bitcoin ETFs would make it easier for people to make illicit Bitcoin transactions: https://twitter.com/TheStalwart/status/1184786875262885890 Weekly news recap links: Bloomberg article summarizing overall race to create a global coin: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-16/fed-drags-feet-as-digital-money-revolution-tests-central-banks FT on why Libra members dropped out: https://www.ft.com/content/6e29a1f0-ef1e-11e9-ad1e-4367d8281195 Libra Association signs charter: https://libra.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Libra-Association-Charter-Press-Release-.pdf CNBC article on China’s race to release digital currency: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/15/china-races-to-launch-a-cryptocurrency-that-could-rival-facebooks.html?__source=sharebar%7Ctwitter&par=sharebar Fortune article further describing race between Chinese digital currency and alternatives: https://fortune.com/2019/10/16/if-libra-fails-china-wins-the-ledger/ Fed official saying US actively debating digital dollar: https://www.coindesk.com/top-fed-official-says-us-central-bank-actively-debating-digital-dollar Christopher Giancarlo’s op-ed in WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-sent-a-man-to-the-moon-we-can-send-the-dollar-to-cyberspace-11571179923 IRS tax form: https://www.coindesk.com/the-irs-will-now-ask-if-you-own-crypto-in-the-1040-tax-form

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

It’s not only about behaving properly

Jan 24, 2023 ·3m

brain is not habitual

Jan 24, 2023 ·6m

Moth Mania: Mothman Hysteria

Feb 23, 2022 ·20m

Tip of the Iceberg

Feb 16, 2022 ·21m

Frozen In Time

Feb 10, 2022 ·21m

The Unconfirmed Truth? (Trailer)

Feb 9, 2022 ·0m

Similar Podcasts

Nhitecap with the Whitecaps Coach and Hugs Welcome Hockey Fans to Nhitecap with the Whitecaps. The only alleged, unconfirmed, official podcast of the Minnesota Whitecaps. Tune in for reCAPS and analysis of games from perennial Co-Ed Pickup Hockey Stars Coach Angela Zevnik Girtz and Huggs, behind-the-scenes stories and perspectives from staff and volunteers, and of course interviews with your favorite players. Our mission is to explore the inner workings of Minnesota’s newest professional sports team, promote women’s hockey, and have some fun along the way.Nestle into your lounge chair with your favorite juice box or adult beverage, this is Nhitecap with the Whitecaps! The Unconfirmed Podcast Hippos and Isaiah Two small Twitch streamers connect to the small streamer community to chat about anything that they want.They might talk about anime or Video Games, they might talk about the meaning of life, no one really knows, not even them.Nothing is really set in stone, its all unconfirmed. FanDemic Josh Pre-discussion about Hollywood's newest films. Join hosts AirHead and ScrewHead and engineer Shane as they talk about the confirmed and unconfirmed chat about the films as well as provide our listeners with actual interviews with all the stars of the films thanks to our handy dandy Electronic Press Kit. Come and join us as we chat up what we like (or dislike) about Hollywood's newest films. Enjoy. Unreleased (AMusic Revision) Bizzle Those are currently unreleased tracks from Canadian singer-songwriter.The album Changes has not yet been released. Some tracks of Justin’s docu-series: Seasons was previewed. The track’s are unconfirmed and it is unknown if this will be on the final cut for Changes.This is only a little revision of it.An AMusic gift.Much love! AMusic GroupFollow us on Instagram:@amusicgang@thisisbizzness

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Unconfirmed?

This episode is 31 minutes long.

When was this Unconfirmed episode published?

This episode was published on October 18, 2019.

What is this episode about?

Jonathan Levin, the cofounder and chief strategy officer of Chainalysis, describes how the blockchain analytics firm helped the IRS identify the administrator of the largest child porn website in the world, which ultimately led to the arrest of the...

Can I download this Unconfirmed episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.