Leaked Chainalysis Video Suggests Monero Tracking Method

A leaked video from the analytics firm Chainalysis has sparked speculation that transactions of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) can be traced.

The firm likely uploaded the video by mistake and quickly removed it. However, users downloaded and re-uploaded the material on YouTube.

According to the description, the video was recorded back in August 2023.

Earlier, footage from the video appeared in a Monero-dedicated thread on Reddit. The post’s author, known as _It_, claims the leaked video demonstrates how Chainalysis has been tracking XMR transactions since 2021 through its own “malicious” nodes in the network.

According to the video instructions, Chainalysis deploys a large number of nodes from various geographical locations and uses multiple internet providers to capture transaction IP addresses and timestamps.

This method potentially reduces Monero’s privacy and allows tracking of the location of wallets interacting with the “malicious” node.

Back in 2020, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service selected Chainalysis and Integra FEC to develop a solution capable of tracking transactions on the Monero network.

In January 2024, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation reported that it had managed to trace XMR linked to hacker Julius Kivimäki.