Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, shares insights on how blockchain intelligence can be used to combat crime and promote responsible innovation.
I spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor at the US Department of Justice, focused, much of that time, on national security, child exploitation, terrorism, and financial crime. Later, I moved to the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, working closely with teams at OFAC and FinCEN. What drew me to that work—and what still drives me today—is the mission: protecting people and financial systems from abuse by illicit actors.
My interest in blockchain started as a practical one. I began seeing crypto more and more in cases involving North Korea around 2016. At that time North Korea was using Bitcoin to launder funds. Now they are attacking the crypto ecosystem regularly - stealing billions at unprecedented speed and scale. But in those early cases, it became clear very quickly that public blockchains—despite being viewed by some as opaque or dangerous—actually provided unprecedented visibility into how illicit finance moves. I saw crypto not as a threat, but as an opportunity: a tool for financial transparency and accountability, if used right.
That led me to TRM Labs, where I saw a chance to help shape how we use blockchain intelligence to fight crime and promote responsible innovation.
In the early days of crypto, there was a misconception that digital assets were largely anonymous and untraceable. That made them attractive to bad actors and misunderstood by regulators. But that perception was wrong. Public blockchains are actually among the most transparent financial systems we’ve ever seen.
Today, illicit activity is a small fraction of the total crypto volume. According to TRM’s data, in 2024, total crypto volume exceeded USD 10.6 trillion, with illicit activity accounting for less than 1%. But that 1% includes deeply concerning threats—nation-state hackers, ransomware operators, scam networks, and terrorist financing. So while the percentage is low, the stakes are high. The good news is: that we’re far better at detecting and disrupting this activity than we were even a few years ago.
What enables misuse is often what also makes crypto powerful: open access, speed, and borderless value transfer. These are features—not bugs—but they can be abused in the absence of strong controls.
We tend to see illicit actors gravitate toward areas with weak compliance, especially non-compliant exchanges (often Russia-based), certain mixing services, and jurisdictions with limited enforcement. The major categories of illicit activity remain consistent: scams and fraud, ransomware, money laundering, sanctions evasion, and darknet markets. What’s changing is how fast the ecosystem evolves. Criminals adapt quickly, using new technologies—like AI, cross-chain bridges, and privacy-enhancing tools—to complicate investigations.
On the flip side, the factors that deter abuse are becoming stronger. Regulators are getting smarter. Public-private collaboration is improving. And blockchain intelligence tools—like what we build at TRM—make it harder for bad actors to hide.
There are a few key challenges. First is speed. Crypto transactions happen in seconds, which means detection and disruption must be nearly real-time. Second is the global nature of the space. An illicit actor can launch an attack from one country, use an exchange in another, and launder funds through a third—all in minutes.
Another challenge is fragmentation. You might have good regulation in one jurisdiction and weak controls in another. That gives criminals room to maneuver. And then there’s the pace of innovation. Every new protocol, token standard, or bridge becomes a new vector that investigators and compliance teams have to understand.
The good news is that the tools are catching up. Public blockchains are transparent by design. We can follow the money with precision—if we know where and how to look.
The biggest hurdle is fragmentation—different rules, different definitions, and different approaches across jurisdictions. That creates regulatory arbitrage and uncertainty for both innovators and enforcers. And, there are certain jurisdictions like Russia which has an ecosystem of non-compliant exchanges, ransomware groups, and darknet markets; or, China which has an underground banking system that facilitates laundering funds for cartels, North Korea, and scammers.
Global standards and consistent frameworks are not only feasible—they are essential. We’re already seeing progress. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has developed standards around virtual asset service providers. The EU is implementing MiCA. The UK and UAE have taken thoughtful steps forward. The US is now, finally, moving toward legal and regulatory clarity for the space. What it will take is coordination. Regulators need to work with each other—and with industry and law enforcement—to align on definitions, expectations, and best practices. At TRM, we work across all these stakeholder groups, helping translate blockchain data into actionable insight for policymakers and investigators.
I don’t foresee a global framework. We don’t have that for anything. But, we are seeing consistent standards develop. Well-designed global standards will do two things: unlock innovation and build trust. It would allow legitimate players to operate with confidence across borders, and it would push bad actors out of the ecosystem.
We’d see more financial inclusion, more efficient cross-border payments, and new rails for global commerce. But it has to come with a strong compliance infrastructure. Crypto doesn’t need to sacrifice openness to achieve safety. We can have both—if we build it right.
There’s often a disconnect between the excitement of innovation and the reality of threat mitigation. At major events, we talk a lot about price, product launches, and L2s—but less about scams, fraud, and nation-state threats. The illicit finance conversation doesn’t always get the stage time it deserves.
We also don’t talk enough about victims. Behind every scam, there’s someone who lost life savings. Behind every ransomware attack, there’s a hospital or school that had its systems frozen. These aren’t abstract risks—they’re real harms. And addressing them is how we earn the right to build the future of finance.
I’m excited about the public-private conversations happening around compliance innovation. It’s not just about regulating crypto—it’s about how crypto can improve compliance across the financial system. I’m also looking forward to discussions on cross-border enforcement and how we build regulatory frameworks that scale globally without stifling progress.
Most of all, I’m excited about being in a room with regulators, technologists, and policy thinkers who are working toward the same thing: a financial system that’s safer, more inclusive, and more transparent than what came before.
About Ari Redbord
Ari Redbord is the Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, where he leads global regulatory and public sector strategy. Prior to TRM, Ari served as a senior official at the US Department of the Treasury and as a federal prosecutor at the US Department of Justice. He is a recognised expert on illicit finance, national security, and the intersection of crypto and policy.
About TRM Labs
TRM Labs is a blockchain intelligence company that helps governments, law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and cryptocurrency businesses detect, investigate, and prevent crypto-related financial crime. Powered by proprietary data and advanced analytics, TRM provides solutions for on-chain forensics, wallet attribution, risk monitoring, and regulatory compliance. Headquartered in the US, TRM supports customers in more than 50 countries across national security, regulatory, and financial sectors.
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