Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-12 06:52:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Andy Greenberg
- ISBN：0385548095
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From the award-winning author of Sandworm comes the propulsive story of a new breed of investigators who have cracked the Bitcoin blockchain， exposing once-anonymous realms of money， drugs， and violence。 "[An] absorbing narrative。。。 Each key section of the book。。。 unfolds like a compact mystery。" （New York Times Book Review）
Over the last decade， a single innovation has massively fueled digital black markets: cryptocurrency。 Crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely--whether in drug dealing， money laundering， or human trafficking--than their analog counterparts could have ever dreamed of。 By transacting not in dollars or pounds but in currencies with anonymous ledgers， overseen by no government， beholden to no bankers， these black marketeers have sought to rob law enforcement of their chief method of cracking down on illicit finance: following the money。
But what if the centerpiece of this dark economy held a secret， fatal flaw？ What if their currency wasn't so cryptic after all？ An investigator using the right mixture of technical wizardry， financial forensics， and old-fashioned persistence could uncover an entire world of wrongdoing。
Tracers in the Dark is a story of crime and pursuit unlike any other。 With unprecedented access to the major players in federal law enforcement and private industry， veteran cybersecurity reporter Andy Greenberg tells an astonishing saga of criminal empires built and destroyed。 He introduces an IRS agent with a defiant streak， a Bitcoin-tracing Danish entrepreneur， and a colorful ensemble of hardboiled agents and prosecutors as they delve deep into the crypto-underworld。 The result is a thrilling， globe-spanning story of dirty cops， drug bazaars， trafficking rings， and the biggest takedown of an online narcotics market in the history of the Internet。
Utterly of our time， Tracers in the Dark is a cat-and-mouse story and a tale of a technological one-upmanship。 Filled with canny maneuvering and shocking twists， it answers a provocative question: How would some of the world's most brazen criminals behave if they were sure they could never get caught？
Over the last decade， a single innovation has massively fueled digital black markets: cryptocurrency。 Crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely--whether in drug dealing， money laundering， or human trafficking--than their analog counterparts could have ever dreamed of。 By transacting not in dollars or pounds but in currencies with anonymous ledgers， overseen by no government， beholden to no bankers， these black marketeers have sought to rob law enforcement of their chief method of cracking down on illicit finance: following the money。
But what if the centerpiece of this dark economy held a secret， fatal flaw？ What if their currency wasn't so cryptic after all？ An investigator using the right mixture of technical wizardry， financial forensics， and old-fashioned persistence could uncover an entire world of wrongdoing。
Tracers in the Dark is a story of crime and pursuit unlike any other。 With unprecedented access to the major players in federal law enforcement and private industry， veteran cybersecurity reporter Andy Greenberg tells an astonishing saga of criminal empires built and destroyed。 He introduces an IRS agent with a defiant streak， a Bitcoin-tracing Danish entrepreneur， and a colorful ensemble of hardboiled agents and prosecutors as they delve deep into the crypto-underworld。 The result is a thrilling， globe-spanning story of dirty cops， drug bazaars， trafficking rings， and the biggest takedown of an online narcotics market in the history of the Internet。
Utterly of our time， Tracers in the Dark is a cat-and-mouse story and a tale of a technological one-upmanship。 Filled with canny maneuvering and shocking twists， it answers a provocative question: How would some of the world's most brazen criminals behave if they were sure they could never get caught？
Reviews
Ruby
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very cool
Daniel Flynn
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Great deep dive into cypto tracing
Matthew Barmack
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Really interesting account of how tracing the blockchain has been used in several criminal investigations。 Covers some of the same territory as American Kingpin。 The writing in this book is crisper and more journalistic， which I liked， but it jumps around a lot and doesn't have a single compelling narrative。 Really interesting account of how tracing the blockchain has been used in several criminal investigations。 Covers some of the same territory as American Kingpin。 The writing in this book is crisper and more journalistic， which I liked， but it jumps around a lot and doesn't have a single compelling narrative。 。。。more
Jeremy Anderberg
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It’s pretty common for non-fiction titles these days to be marketed along the lines of “reads like a thriller！” — but it’s a description that rarely matches reality。 So when I picked up Tracers in the Dark， I was delighted to find that every page was as propulsive and surprising as any crime novel I’ve read。With a couple of ambitious IRS special agents leading the narrative （don’t be fooled — that group of investigators is intense）， Greenberg tells the incredible story of how crypto came to be c It’s pretty common for non-fiction titles these days to be marketed along the lines of “reads like a thriller！” — but it’s a description that rarely matches reality。 So when I picked up Tracers in the Dark， I was delighted to find that every page was as propulsive and surprising as any crime novel I’ve read。With a couple of ambitious IRS special agents leading the narrative （don’t be fooled — that group of investigators is intense）， Greenberg tells the incredible story of how crypto came to be cracked。 You’ll find headline-grabbing stories like the fall of dark markets Silk Road and AlphaBay as well as lesser-known misdeeds like the Border Patrol and DEA agents who got sucked into the tantalizing underbelly of Bitcoin riches。The most heart-pounding true crime books aren’t just about blood and guts and murder — the new Wild West of crypto crime is as jaw-dropping as anything I’ve read in the genre。 。。。more
Sean Kinne
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A crypto master thriller Simply amazing work。 No better author right now on cyber， tech， cryptocurrency。 Well written and very timely。 We read everything by Andy going forward。
John R
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Fantastic follow up from Sandworm。 So relevant today in wake of FTX fiasco and the regulatory storm coming for crypto industry。 Highly recommended！
Adam Dudley
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Riveting read！
Betsy Suits
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Learned a lot of insider info about money and the Internet‼️
John B。
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4 Stars。 This book is a page turner。 It is more interesting and reads better than Andy Greenberg's Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers。 The pacing is a good balance between educating the reader on the intricacies of the blockchain and Bitcoin （and other cryptocurrencies where appropriate） and action as government agencies engage in a game of cat and mouse with some of the most savvy dark actors on the planet。Several of the threads explored in the 4 Stars。 This book is a page turner。 It is more interesting and reads better than Andy Greenberg's Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers。 The pacing is a good balance between educating the reader on the intricacies of the blockchain and Bitcoin （and other cryptocurrencies where appropriate） and action as government agencies engage in a game of cat and mouse with some of the most savvy dark actors on the planet。Several of the threads explored in the book had the pacing and tension of an episode of Law and Order。 The international scope of the book brought to mind another recent read in the genre of international true crime: Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking， Murder， and a Global Maritime Conspiracy。 。。。more
Andy Smith
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Very interesting！
Jay
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This was fascinating。 I got hooked on the excerpts printed in Wired Magazine （where Greenberg is an editor） and bought it as soon as it came out。 While you learn a lot about Bitcoin， other crypto currency， and exchanges， it’s not so much the story of crypto currency as much as it is the story of law enforcement and others' efforts to trace crypto currency。 And that is a fascinating story。 Academics， tech start ups， and law enforcement worked together and apart to analyze the blockchain to see wh This was fascinating。 I got hooked on the excerpts printed in Wired Magazine （where Greenberg is an editor） and bought it as soon as it came out。 While you learn a lot about Bitcoin， other crypto currency， and exchanges， it’s not so much the story of crypto currency as much as it is the story of law enforcement and others' efforts to trace crypto currency。 And that is a fascinating story。 Academics， tech start ups， and law enforcement worked together and apart to analyze the blockchain to see what they could learn from it。 What they learned allowed them to trace transactions that most had thought were untraceable， and take down some of the biggest， earliest dark web markets such as AlphaBay and Silk Road。 It also allowed them to take down some corrupt Homeland Security agents， and an unimaginably large child sexual abuse video marketplace on the dark web。Even though new characters are constantly being introduced， it is fast paced， and easy to follow。 You don’t have to understand crypto to understand the story， although it doesn’t hurt。 It is so up to date that it discusses the effect on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on cybercriminals hiding in Russia， but it did come out before FTX went belly up。 While things such as the FTX collapse are not the subject of this book， you will be much better prepared to understand it after having read it。Super interesting， super well told story that is very accessible。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
andrew y
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Reporting。 Very good reporting。 Even excellent reporting。
Philip Bolger
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A superb look into the overlap of cryptocurrency， crime， and law enforcement from 2008 to 2022。
Ryan
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This is a great book from an amazing technology journalist -- specifically covering the tools and procedures used to trace cryptocurrency transactions （e。g。 Bitcoin） for law enforcement purposes。Despite the public protestations of law enforcement （and some Bitcoin advocates） Bitcoin isn't even as private as regular banking systems -- it's a global public transparent ledger of pseudonyms， fully linkable through connections to external systems， patterns， and "metadata" analysis。 We're currently li This is a great book from an amazing technology journalist -- specifically covering the tools and procedures used to trace cryptocurrency transactions （e。g。 Bitcoin） for law enforcement purposes。Despite the public protestations of law enforcement （and some Bitcoin advocates） Bitcoin isn't even as private as regular banking systems -- it's a global public transparent ledger of pseudonyms， fully linkable through connections to external systems， patterns， and "metadata" analysis。 We're currently living in a privacy dark age valley of "too late for physical bearer assets， too soon for Zero Knowledge online assets"。 Cryptocurrency has an edge in being permissionless and censorship resistant in many cases， but it's far from private as deployed today。This book shows through tracing dark net markets participants （Silk Road， AlphaBay， and others）， exchanges， and other bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions what the true state of privacy on the blockchain is。 A major element is the founding and history of Chainalysis， one of the first dedicated tracing firms， from the tracing of loss Mt Gox exchange assets， but there's also extensive coverage of various law enforcement agencies and how they use traditional forensic accounting techniques， as well as chain analysis tools and subpoena and other investigatory powers， to find undesirable activity。 It was a little disappointing that de-anonymizing Monero transactions and other more privacy focused transactions wasn't more of a focus， but this is probably not covered as much in open forums。The book and writing style focuses on personalities and events， rather than technology， so it's approachable and interesting for a general audience， but as an expert in the field （I work for a cryptoasset insurance company and have been involved in anonymous electronic cash since the mid 1990s）， it's technically accurate as well。Strongly recommend。 。。。more
Joe
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Nicely confirms my thought back in ~2013 that Bitcoin's global， permanent ledger made transactions the opposite of anonymous。 Disappointing that to first approximation， all "commerce" conducted via cryptocurrencies is for child porn， drugs， arms or ransomware payments。 Nicely confirms my thought back in ~2013 that Bitcoin's global， permanent ledger made transactions the opposite of anonymous。 Disappointing that to first approximation， all "commerce" conducted via cryptocurrencies is for child porn， drugs， arms or ransomware payments。 。。。more
Ben Rothke
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Nothing makes a book so readable when you have a great writer and a compelling story。 When it comes to writing about cryptocurrency， perhaps no one is more eminently qualified to write on the topic than Andy Greenberg。 Greenberg is a long-time writer for Wired and has written extensively on security， privacy， and information freedom。 In Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency （Doubleday）， Greenberg has written a fascinating book on cryptocurrency。 While there Nothing makes a book so readable when you have a great writer and a compelling story。 When it comes to writing about cryptocurrency， perhaps no one is more eminently qualified to write on the topic than Andy Greenberg。 Greenberg is a long-time writer for Wired and has written extensively on security， privacy， and information freedom。 In Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency （Doubleday）， Greenberg has written a fascinating book on cryptocurrency。 While there are countless cryptocurrencies， the book focuses on the most famous one， Bitcoin。 The book focuses on the mechanics of crypto， and while it has revolutionized financial services， it has spawned a massive opportunity for illicit activities。 His previous book Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers， reads like this one。 Stories that sound like they are out of a Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum novel， but are very nonfiction， and reflect a more significant problem facing society。Bitcoin was initially touted as being completely anonymous。 But Greenberg shows how research by cryptography and security researcher Sarah Meiklejohn， then of the University of California， San Diego， and Chainalysis， a blockchain analysis firm， poked holes in the claims that Bitcoin is entirely anonymous。 At the same time， many of those who sold illegal goods on the dark web shielded themselves from this perceived anonymity。 It was the work by Chainalysis that led to countless arrests。In the book， two early cryptocurrency figures are highlighted。 Ross Ulbricht， known online as Dread Pirate Roberts， created and ran the infamous darknet website Silk Road from 2011 until he was arrested in 2013， and Alexandre Cazes， who ran the other infamous darknet site AlphaBay。Both Ulbricht and Cazes were exceedingly bright， yet incredibly arrogant。 And with all of the myriad security controls they put in place to ensure their anonymity， both were caught using innocuous law-enforcement techniques。So can there be a completely anonymous cryptocurrency？ In 2013， researchers from Johns Hopkins University created Zerocoin， a proposed privacy extension to Bitcoin。 That eventually morphed into a standalone protocol named Zcash。 Matthew Green， one of the founding Zcash scientists， notes that privacy is a really hard problem。Green has seen too many claims of future Bitcoin upgrades or add-one that would solve its anonymity issues， but yet another innovation ultimately defeated that in blockchain analysis。 He remains hopeful that his Zcash will eventually get there one day。There are countless benefits to anonymity， both in communications and banking。 There is also a dark side to it。 One area that has thrived is child pornography。 The book details the work of IRS Special Agent Tigran Gambaryan and Chris Janczewski of IRS Criminal Investigation （CI）， whose work on blockchain analysis resulted in the takedown of a Welcome to Video。 That was the most significant cryptocurrency-funded child sexual abuse material （CSAM） marketplace that anyone in law enforcement had ever seen。The early days of cryptocurrency were filled with the irrational exuberance of the complete anonymity of the cryptocurrency。 Many of the founders had equal hubris and were oblivious to the underlying flaws in their cryptosystems。 Greenberg tells a fascinating story of some of the key players and how they were ultimately hoisted by their own petard and came crashing down。The story Greenberg tells so well encompasses a mixture of technology， international law enforcement， financial forensics， greed， and more。 While his technology experience is deep， Greenberg has written a remarkable work that will undoubtedly be of interest to those both with a technical background and not。 This is a perfect book for a long plane ride， as it is engrossing and hard to put down。The antagonists in the book were certain that various levels of anonymity would protect them and keep their crypto secure。 They added additional layers of control， yet still were brought down。 This is a fascinating story of technology in general and Bitcoin specifically。 And it is one of the most interesting and compelling books that you will read this year。 。。。more
Pearlyn Lim
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