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- Uk’s HMRC has decided to invest in crypto analytics to accelerate the process of developing tools to identify and investigate criminals who use bitcoins and other crypto coins.
- The HMRC is looking forward to contributing to developing a tool that utilises intelligence-gathering methods to identify and classify crypto-asset transactions.
As cryptocurrency expands its usage across sectors, the use of digital currency for illegal activities and crime has also increased.
Concerned by this trend, the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the government department for specific financial responsibilities of the United Kingdom has decided to take matters into their own hands.
The HMRC has decided to invest in crypto analytics to accelerate the process of developing tools to identify and investigate criminals who use bitcoins and other crypto coins.
Multiple free online tools enable a manual analysis of raw blockchain data to reveal transaction information. But the agency believes that investment in commercial products is necessary to allow investigators to cover the intelligence gap regarding the use of crypto transactions in criminal activity against HMRC.
Cryptoanalysis Tool
The HMRC is looking forward to contributing to developing a tool that utilises intelligence-gathering methods to identify and classify crypto-asset transactions. Further, the product will also specialise in identifying transactions associated with crypto asset service providers.
The product is anticipated to use cluster analysis to locate transactions to their source companies or service providers, especially those known to operate gambling services or are part of dark web operations or crypto scams.
Speaking of the new investment, HMRC said “Successful service providers must have the right people, the right assets and deep experience. The key is that we will look for vendors to demonstrate their capabilities by demonstrating their expertise in the field of crypto asset tracking.”
Considering the nature of issues dealt by HMRC, it is necessary that tool in question can track at least major crypto coins like ETH, ETC, BTC, BCH, XRP, USDT and LTC transactions along with value fluctuations.
The agency has also shown interest in tools tracking Zcash Monero, and Dash. HMRC has set a budget of £ 100,000 for a one-year license fee for the selected tool. It has set January 31st as the deadline to invite potential suppliers and evaluate their products. The scheduled contract start date is February 17th. 2020
