Crypto often makes mainstream headlines for the wrong reasons, but beneath the surface lies a story of innovation, resilience and a community working to build a safer financial future.

This week’s episode of the Clear Crypto Podcast, brought to you by StarkWare and Cointelegraph, takes a hard look at one of the most pressing, and misunderstood, issues in digital assets: crime in the crypto ecosystem.

Crypto crime reality check

While mainstream headlines often associate blockchain with hacks, scams and fraud, the reality is more complex. 

Guest Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs and a former U.S. federal prosecutor, joined host Nathan to cut through the perception gap. 

“The reality is that we’ve seen real scam activity in the crypto ecosystem over the last two years, about 50 billion in scams and fraud,” he said.

“But illicit activity still makes up about 1% of all activity within the crypto ecosystem. So we’re talking about 99% lawful activity”

For Redbord, the takeaway is clear: Crypto is not inherently flawed, but like any transformative technology, it attracts opportunistic actors.

Related: DC attorney general sues Athena Bitcoin over alleged hidden fees

 “Bad actors are always early adopters of transformative technology, and cryptocurrency and blockchain are just that,” he said. “The promise of cryptocurrency is cross-border value transfer at the speed of the internet … but you know who else likes to move funds faster and in larger amounts is bad actors”

Still, the same transparency that enables illicit use also gives investigators powerful tools. He emphasized: 

“Every transaction is traceable, trackable and immutable on a public ledger. And that means we can do compliance. We can do investigations better than we ever could before.”

Privacy, security, innovation

The discussion also explored how privacy and security can coexist through innovation. Redbord pointed to “zero knowledge proofs, around privacy pools, around digital identity” as examples of technologies. 

He said zk-proofs “allow us to thread that needle between ensuring lawful users of this technology have the privacy they need, but also stopping bad actors like North Korea who threaten the ecosystem.”

Despite the challenges, Redbord stressed optimism: 

“What keeps me so positive is the people I get to interact with every day … this incredible community of compliance professionals, law enforcement and builders.”

To hear the complete conversation on the Clear Crypto Podcast, listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows! 

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