December 20, 2024

2024 TRM Wrapped: Recapping This Year's Highlights

As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on our mission to build a safer financial system for billions of people — something that is only possible because of the work our customers do everyday. This year, we partnered with organizations around the world who are helping victims of pig butchering, taking down fentanyl vendors, implementing robust crypto compliance controls to help safeguard customers, and so much more.

In our year-end review, we’ll highlight customer wins, major product releases, key policy updates, and must-read content. Get ready to relive 2024’s greatest hits.

2024 By the numbers

3,000 certifications earned
110+ product releases
70 new TRMers
11 customer case studies
1 Netflix cameo

Customer wins

Disrupting the fentanyl supply chain

One of the top priorities for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is stemming the flow of fentanyl across the US border. Following the AlphaBay darknet takedown, HSI and federal law enforcement partners uncovered a message from a suspect who had identified herself as the prominent opioid and fentanyl vendor, Farmacy41. Special Agent Mann used blockchain intelligence to trace bitcoin withdrawals from her vendor marketplace accounts to multiple cryptocurrency exchange accounts. He and his team were able to secure a search warrant to search the suspect’s home and HSI was able to indict and arrest the Farmacy41 vendor — along with her supplier — resulting in a USD 15 million forfeiture.

Prosecuting criminal actors behind money laundering on the blockchain

Jessica Peck, a senior counsel in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Acting Assistant Deputy Chief within the DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), didn’t start her career with blockchain intelligence in mind. Her path, though, led her from prosecuting violent crimes in New York City to unraveling some of the most complex crypto-enabled cases the DOJ has tackled. Jessica Peck’s career is a testament to the impact that curiosity and adaptability can have in the face of emerging threats. From her first brush with blockchain in the form of a stolen Ledger Nano X to leading complex, multi-agency investigations, Peck’s story demonstrates how innovative thinking can reshape federal prosecution.

Combating pig butchering scams

According to TRM’s Illicit Crypto Economy Report, proceeds from pig butchering amounted to over USD 4.4 billion worth of crypto losses in 2023. Organizations and law enforcement agencies around the world are working to combat pig butchering scams and seek justice for victims. In the US, the REACT Task Force, co-founded by Erin West, former Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County, conducts multi-jurisdictional investigations to restore justice and improve outcomes for victims of pig butchering.

In Thailand, the Royal Thai Police’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) uncovered an international pig butchering network. Working with interagency partners and Binance, CCIB identified and apprehended the primary suspect behind the pig butchering network. The suspect has since been sentenced to 28 years in prison, and CCIB is actively working to return the recovered funds to affected victims.

Argentina fights back against a surge in cybercrime

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Specialized Fiscal Unit in Cybercrime Investigations (UFEIC) was established in response to an alarming surge in cybercrime. The UFEIC was confronted with an array of intricate cases — the C14 criminal organization, notorious for their expertise in "SIM swapping”, and another criminal network pirating DirecTV’s satellite television content. The UFEIC's operations against the C14 criminal group and the DirecTV piracy case led to tangible outcomes, like the the arrest of six key members in C14 and about thirty thousand dollars seized in cryptocurrencies.

1inch works to create a safer DeFi system

1inch is among a cohort of DeFi protocols proactively adopting compliance measures and partnering with blockchain intelligence providers to comply with sanctions, limit the ability of threat actors to use DeFi for illicit activities and help shape the future DeFi regulatory environment. 1inch has screened millions of wallets and blocked hundreds of high-risk addresses — leading the way to a safer DeFi system.

‍See all of the customer stories

Product Releases

This year, we released over 110 new features and enhancements. We focused on adding new blockchains and assets, expanding attribution, enhancing exposure analytics, improving scam victim support, and delivering a new experience for tracing on UTXO chains.

Behavioral Intelligence

This year, we continued to innovate on our blockchain intelligence technology and proudly launched Behavioral Intelligence. This third-generation technology features two innovative capabilities, Signatures® and transfer labels, to enrich the analysis of on-chain activities. Signatures detect suspicious behavioral patterns or anomalies, while transfer labels provide deeper insight into the context of transactions.

Cross-chain indirect exposure

Building on our coverage of hundreds of cross-chain bridges across 30 blockchains, we launched automatic cross-chain indirect exposure. This capability accelerates the ability to identify the source and destination of funds by automatically following the money across multiple blockchains, regardless of the number of bridges used. Cross-chain indirect exposure allows investigators to follow the money 10x faster and allows compliance teams to have more comprehensive visibility into the risk of their customer base.

T3 Financial Crime Unit

In September, TRON, Tether, and TRM Labs joined forces to establish the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU). This first-of-its-kind initiative aims to facilitate public-private collaboration to empower law enforcement to freeze funds in non-custodial wallets and combat illicit activity associated with the use of USDT on the TRON blockchain. Since its launch, the initiative, in collaboration with law enforcement, has supported the freezing of $70 million USD in funds associated with blackmail, investment scams, and other illicit activity.

Advanced UTXO tracing mode

With their complex web of inputs and outputs, UTXO transactions have long posed unique challenges for blockchain investigators. TRM’s UTXO tracing mode simplifies this complexity by consolidating all critical information directly within the graph. No more switching between panels or tabs — everything you need is in one place. Investigators can also seamlessly toggle between cluster-level and address-level tracing, offering unparalleled flexibility in their workflow.

Enhanced scam victim support through Chainabuse

TRM operates Chainabuse.com, the largest reporting platform for victims of crypto scams and fraud. The platform has received more than 715,000 reports. In an effort to help, victims gain access to free guidance and support focused on three critical areas after submitting a report:

Preventative education to recognize and avoid recovery scams
Advice on steps to take if scammed
Information on how the recovery of funds works

In November, we enhanced the resources provided to victims immediately after they submit a report, ensuring they receive time-sensitive guidance. For more comprehensive support, victims can also visit the Chainabuse Safety Support Center to access additional tools and educational materials.

FedRAMP High authorization

This year we continued to strengthen our commitment to US Federal customers by achieving FedRAMP High Authorization. This milestone demonstrates TRM Labs’ commitment to delivering the highest standards of security, compliance, and performance to federal agencies as they combat the evolving threat landscape. With this High designation, TRM Labs meets the most stringent security requirements, enabling federal agencies to leverage its blockchain intelligence tools for mission-critical operations in a secure environment.

Global policy highlights

2024 was a pivotal year for crypto policy. Almost every jurisdiction in the world is in the midst of regulatory discussions about what their future digital financial system will look like — setting the stage for an interesting 2025. TRM reviewed crypto policy developments in 24 jurisdictions, representing approximately 70% of global crypto exposure. Here are some highlights:

Close to 60% of the 24 jurisdictions we reviewed introduced new policies or positions for digital assets
About 70% made progress implementing regulations
Just under half made moves to support digital asset innovation

Across the globe, crypto policy was shaped by winds and waves of change. Regulatory frameworks in 2023 that were only in theory, were put into practice supported by innovation pilots. Spurred on by the ETF approvals and government support for tokenization, institutions accelerated their adoption of digital assets. Elections around the world slowed down some progress on crypto but in the US, caused a Bitcoin all-time high. Geopolitical uncertainty and stretched resources at regulators necessitated reprioritization of some national efforts. Overall, 2024 was a big year for crypto policy and laid the groundwork for an even busier 2025.

The content you kept on repeat

2024 Trends: Crypto Adoption and Illicit Exposure by Country to keep up with the leaderboard of countries with the greatest rates of crypto adoption
The 4 Pillars of Effective Sanctions Compliance Programs for the capabilities to consider when choosing a blockchain intelligence solution to help drive your sanctions compliance program
Key Considerations for Evaluating Indirect Risk on the Blockchain to detect suspicious activity 2+ hops away from your customer or institution
Webinar Recap: Navigating Risk in Crypto Payments for practical tips for compliance teams to manage crypto payment risks
Elevating Ongoing AML Supervision for financial regulators looking to integrate blockchain intelligence into ongoing monitoring processes
Rate of Illicit Activity at Crypto ATMs is Double That of Overall Crypto Industry to understand how crypto kiosks are being used for scams and other illicit activity

“This year, we saw the global community come together to disrupt illicit crypto activity. I’m inspired by our customers’ successes — from record seizures, to disrupting international pig butchering networks, to taking down one of the most prolific ransomware groups. Looking ahead to 2025, I’m encouraged by the tailwinds that are leading to the growth of the crypto industry, as well as the increasing ability of law enforcement and national security organizations to combat illicit crypto activity.”
-Esteban Castaño, Co-founder and CEO of TRM

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