Chainalysis used its experience in the U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Roman Sterlingov, the co-founder of crypto mixing service Bitcoin Fog, who was convicted on money laundering charges in 2024, to shape its ontology.
During the trial, the judge overseeing the case held what’s known as a Daubert hearing to determine whether Chainalysis’ Reactor tool was rigorous enough to be used as a prosecutorial tool. Ultimately, Judge Randolph Moss ruled that “substantial evidence supports the government’s submission that the software is highly reliable.”
The company is leaning on the fact that its software has already been tested in a trial to argue that it has a strong foundation for its methodology.
Illum said multiple times that Chainalysis was publishing its proposal to “start that conversation” with the broader crypto industry about what standards could look like, but hasn’t actively solicited much feedback yet, beyond some initial discussions with law enforcement groups.
Clusters
The ontology itself starts with the idea that current blockchain analytics tools rely on the concept of a “cluster,” and this term “does not have a universal meaning across the industry,” according to a copy of the document viewed by CoinDesk.
Chainalysis breaks down the concept into different components, starting with wallet segments, which in turn might be used as a deposit address, change address or a number of other functions.
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