Authors:
Hugo Almeida
1
;
2
;
Pedro Pinto
3
;
4
;
5
and
Ana Fernández Vilas
1
Affiliations:
1
University of Vigo and AtlanTTic Research Center, Spain
;
2
Instituto Politecnico de Viana do Castelo, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
;
3
Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
;
4
INESC TEC, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
;
5
Universidade da Maia, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal
Keyword(s):
Money Laundering, Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, Transactions, Methods.
Abstract:
Cryptocurrencies are considered relevant assets and they are currently used as an investment or to carry out transactions. However, specific characteristics commonly associated with the cryptocurrencies such as irreversibility, immutability, decentralized architecture, absence of control authority, mobility, and pseudo-anonymity make them appealing for money laundering activities. Thus, the collection and characterization of current cryptocurrency-based methods used for money laundering are paramount to understanding the circulation flows of physical and digital money and preventing this illegal activity. In this paper, a collection of cryptocurrency transaction methods is presented and distributed through the money laundering life cycle. Each method is analyzed and classified according to the phase of money laundering it corresponds to. The result of this article may in the future help design efficient strategies to prevent illegal money laundering activities.