1 in 5 Cross-Chain Crypto Investigations Involve More Than 10 Blockchains, Elliptic Finds
Elliptic found that a third of complex cross-chain investigations involved four or more blockchains, and 27% involved more than five.
Jackson Hull, Elliptic's chief technology officer, told CoinDesk that though cross-chain crime has existed as long as there have been multiple blockchains, the volume of cross-chain crime has increased 'pretty dramatically' over the last five years as the cost of switching ecosystems has gone down and the number of options to switch to has gone up.
Though there are plenty of non-criminal reasons why someone would want to move assets between crypto ecosystems, Hull said that it's also a very common obfuscation tactic for hackers and other criminals who want to launder money and cover their tracks.
Hull said that Elliptic has recently expanded its coverage to support 50 blockchains, meaning that investigators who use Elliptic's software are able to easily trace funds that move between any of the covered blockchains, or pass through any of the '300-plus' bridges Elliptic's software supports. Hull added that Elliptic is able to add a new blockchain to its coverage in as little as three weeks.
'The most important, risky, high-stakes investigations are the ones where the [bad] actor is trying to launder or hide or obfuscate the funds so they pop more and more across these blockchains,' Hull said. 'So that's really what drives it.'
Elliptic aided U.S. law enforcement in their recent takedown of sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Garantex, which was popular with ransomware gangs and Russian oligarchs looking to evade sanctions. Following the takedown, the exchange has attempted to rebrand as Grinex.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
APT Surges 5% From Lows Despite Market Volatility and $960M in Altcoin Liquidations
Aptos' APT exhibited exceptional price volatility throughout the 24-hour trading period, establishing a comprehensive trading range of 5.4%, spanning from an absolute low of $4.53 to a session high of $4.79, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. The model showed that the period was highlighted by an explosive intraday rally at 14:00 on July 24, with price action accelerating from $4.59 to $4.75 accompanied by substantial volume of 3.64 million, creating robust volume-confirmed support at the $4.59 threshold. Post-breakout, APT sustained consistent trading above the $4.60 level, encountering significant resistance in the $4.75-$4.79 range, according to the model. The recent altcoin correction eliminated $960 million in leveraged positions throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The bounce in Aptos came as the wider crypto market fell, with the broader market gauge, the Coindesk 20, recently down 0.6%. In recent trading, APT was 1.2% higher over 24 hours, trading around $4.695. Technical Analysis: The trading session included a significant retracement to $4.62 approximately at 07:53, forming a crucial support foundation before launching a sustained upward movement. Price action reached $4.67 near 08:06, illustrating substantial buying pressure and momentum alignment. The recovery sequence confirms the previously established support territory around $4.58-$4.60. APT effectively maintained ascending lows, indicating potential advancement toward the identified resistance zone near $4.75-$4.79. Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy. Sign in to access your portfolio

Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
Inside NATO's 'eyes in the sky' watching Russian moves from 30,000 feet
Business Insider got access to a NATO AWACS flight for an eight-hour surveillance mission. The mission provided aerial support for a NATO patrol and security operation in the Baltic Sea. This is what it's like inside the E-3A Sentry, keeping an eye on Russian activity at 30,000 feet. ABOARD A NATO AWACS PLANE — As the aircraft soared over Eastern Europe, tiny triangles and U-shapes blinked across a glowing console. Each shape marked a presence — a ship, a fighter jet, or something else moving near the Baltic Sea and the militarized Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The NATO E-3A Sentry, a flying radar and airborne command post, was tracking them all, with its rotating radar dome scanning hundreds of miles in every direction. "We're the eyes in the sky," said Maj. Ben, a US Air Force officer and the mission's fighter allocator. "Being up at 30,000 feet, we can look down and we see pretty much everything to the ground." Business Insider was given access to a NATO AWACS flight this week for an eight-hour surveillance mission above Eastern Europe. Departing from Geilenkirchen Air Base in western Germany — home to 14 aging E-3s — at 8 am, the plane flew east to support Baltic Sentry operations, an ongoing alliance effort focused on protecting undersea infrastructure after recent sabotage incidents in the Baltic Sea. "Nice view, right?" someone in the cockpit, it wasn't immediately clear who, said into their headset as the plane poked through the thin cloud layer. The airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, is a modified Boeing 707/320 passenger plane with a long-range radar and advanced sensors that can detect friendly or hostile objects from far away and collect data that can be distributed in real time to allied ground stations, ships, or other aircraft. The E-3 is easily recognizable with its 360-degree rotating radar dome above the fuselage. It can see over 300 miles across the air and surface, giving commanders critical situational awareness at war or in peacetime. As an older plane, the interior feels more like a Cold War time capsule than a 21st-century warplane, but this aircraft is actually a surveillance nerve center loaded with advanced and highly classified equipment, keeping tabs on things. The surveillance mission is "the bread and butter of this platform," said Maj. Ben, who, like others BI spoke with during the flight, could only be identified by his rank and first name for security reasons. The E-3 is capable of a range of missions, including surveillance, tracking, target detection, early warning, command and control, and battle management, making it a high-value military asset and one of the few that NATO itself actually owns. Built in the '80s, still critical now NATO received its first E-3s in 1982. Despite their age, these planes have proven indispensable since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. After the full-scale assault in 2022, the AWACS fleet intensified its patrols to monitor Russian activity and deter aggression on NATO's eastern flank. The AWACS functions like a high-flying office space, with a range of different roles and stations where crew members work at their computers or with other sensitive instruments. In the back of the aircraft are a few makeshift beds, a place to store and heat food, and a toilet. Looking at it in 2025, the interior is dated and almost feels like stepping into a museum. This flying command station is anything but an artifact. The plane is packed with advanced capabilities. And just about everything the crew touches, from paperwork to computer screens, is classified and had to be sanitized before BI could take photos. The most sensitive area of the aircraft, where key communication systems are, is covered with a curtain. The plane's big radar rotates once every 10 seconds and can detect everything from warships to aircraft to air defense systems. It gathers data that the surveillance operators can see on digital maps and immediately transmit to users on the ground, at sea, or in the air. "Wherever the demand is for an air picture, we can go there," explained Cpt. Jasper, a Dutch surveillance controller who monitors the airspace and surface. "That's something that static sites cannot do, and what most ground sites cannot do," he said, adding that this is the advantage of "having a big flying radar and air control station." One screen BI was authorized to review showed activity in and above Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, the Baltic Sea, and Kaliningrad. The small but heavily militarized Russian province, sandwiched between two NATO countries, has long been a concern for the alliance. That is why the AWACS are watching, and they see everything. If a Russian fighter jet took off from an airbase in Kaliningrad, the AWACS — circling just beyond its airspace — would surely spot it. The exclave hosts some of Moscow's ships, ground forces, and air defenses. Cpt. Marek, a Polish passive controller who works with the AWACS' advanced sensors, said the aircraft provides extra "situational awareness" to the Baltic Sentry operation and for the eastern flank allies. He added that the aircraft is an essential part of European security, and that's especially been the case since the war in Ukraine started. Flexibility in flight Beyond its robust surveillance capabilities, the E-3 is also a command and control platform that can coordinate with other aircraft and easily be retasked. This flight, for instance, was initially set to operate in Polish airspace but moved to Lithuanian airspace to support a training mission involving Portuguese F-16 fighter jets. That flexibility is a critical capability for high-end fights, where numerous assets would be on the move in a fast-paced operating environment. "For the time we are now in, it's better to have a flexible force. We can go everywhere," said Cpt. Jasper said. Key to the E-3's flexibility is its endurance. The aircraft can normally operate for eight and a half hours, although it can fly longer missions through its air-to-air refueling capability. At one point during the flight, the vintage seatbelt sign clicked on, signaling that this process was about to begin. Aerial refueling is a delicate process that requires the AWACS pilots to drop altitude and fly the aircraft by hand so it can connect to the tanker and receive fuel. This made for a bumpy stretch that much of the crew elected to sleep through. From the cockpit, the E-3 closed with the American KC-135 tanker aircraft, getting so close that the face of an airman inside could be seen to take on 40,000 pounds of fuel before separating and going on with its mission. Dutch Cpt. Donny Demmers, a public affairs officer who was permitted to share his full name, said NATO can send an AWACS to operate from an area far from base, and thanks to the mid-air refueling, the plane can remain on station for a long time. The E-3 flew back to Geilenkirchen and touched down shortly before 4 pm, but that flight time could have been greatly extended if needed during a crisis. "The flexibility gives us the survivability," Demmers said.

Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's trip to Scotland as his new golf course opens blurs politics and the family's business
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Lashed by cold winds and overlooking choppy, steel-gray North Sea waters, the breathtaking sand dunes of Scotland's northeastern coast rank among President Trump's favorite spots on Earth. 'At some point, maybe in my very old age, I'll go there and do the most beautiful thing you've ever seen,' Trump said in 2023, during his New York civil fraud trial, talking about his plans for future developments on his property in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. At 79 and back in the White House, Trump is making at least part of that pledge a reality, landing in Scotland on Friday as his family's business prepares for the Aug. 13 opening of a golf course bearing his name. Trump will be in Scotland until Tuesday, and he plans to talk trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Aberdeen area is already home to another of his courses, Trump International Scotland, and the Republican president is also visiting a Trump course near Turnberry, about 200 miles away on Scotland's southwest coast. Trump said upon arrival Friday evening that his son is 'gonna cut a ribbon' for the new course during his trip. Eric Trump also went with his father to break ground on the project back in 2023. Using a presidential overseas trip — with its sprawling entourage of advisors, White House and support staffers, Secret Service agents and reporters — to help show off Trump-brand golf destinations demonstrates how the president has become increasingly comfortable intermingling his governing pursuits with promoting his family's business interests. The White House has brushed off questions about potential conflicts of interest, arguing that Trump's business success before he entered politics was a key to his appeal to voters. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called the Scotland swing a 'working trip.' She added that Trump 'has built the best and most beautiful world-class golf courses anywhere in the world, which is why they continue to be used for prestigious tournaments and by the most elite players in the sport.' Trump went to Scotland to play his Turnberry course during his first term in 2018 while en route to a meeting in Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But this trip comes as the new golf course is already actively selling tee times. 'We're at a point where the Trump administration is so intertwined with the Trump business that he doesn't seem to see much of a difference,' said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW. 'It's as if the White House were almost an arm of the Trump Organization.' During his first term, the Trump Organization signed an ethics pact barring deals with foreign companies. An ethics framework for Trump's second term allows them. Trump's assets are in a trust run by his children, who are handling day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization while he's in the White House. The company has inked many recent lucrative foreign agreements involving golf courses, including plans to build luxury developments in Qatar and Vietnam, even as the Trump administration negotiates tariff rates for those countries and others. Trump's existing Aberdeenshire course has a history nearly as rocky as the area's cliffs. It has struggled to turn a profit and was found by Scottish conservation authorities to have partially destroyed nearby sand dunes. Trump's company also was ordered to cover the Scottish government's legal costs after the course unsuccessfully sued over the construction of a nearby wind farm, arguing in part that it hurt golfers' views. The development was part of the massive civil case, which accused Trump of inflating his wealth to secure loans and make business deals. Trump's company's initial plans for his first Aberdeen-area course called for a luxury hotel and nearby housing. His company received permission to build 500 houses, but Trump suggested he'd be allowed to build five times as many and borrowed against their values without actually building any homes, the lawsuit alleged. Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable last year and ordered his company to pay $355 million in fines — a judgment that has grown with interest to more than $510 million as Trump appeals. Weissert writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.