[CHAINALYSIS PODCAST EPISODE 36] Web3 Security and Crypto’s $10 Billion Problem

Episode 36 of the Chainalysis Public Key podcast is here! We talk with two Chainalysis senior investigation specialists, Adam Hart and Julia Hardy, about the many scams plaguing Web3 and how collaboration may be the solution for crypto’s $10 billion problem.

You can listen or subscribe now on Spotify, Applegold Audible. Keep reading for a full preview of episode 36.

Public Key Episode 36 preview: Solving Web3’s security problem

If you’re listening to this podcast, then you’ve probably already heard a lot about the Ronin Bridge hack, or the attack on the Wormhole Protocol, and probably the ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, but have you heard about the scam that hit tens of thousands MetaMask wallet users and resulted in the theft of over $200 million of funds?

On this podcast, Ian Andrews (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis) is joined by colleagues from the Chainalysis Investigations team, Adam Hart and Julia Hardy. This episode was recorded just after they returned from presenting their research at DevCon Bogota, the biggest gathering of Ethereum developers this year.

The discussion gets into the mechanics of one of the leading crypto scams, the investigative process, and the enthusiasm from the Ethereum community to help solve this problem.

Quote of the episode

“We’re all part of this community. We’re all trying to grow it. We’re trying to bring more users in. We’re trying to ultimately improve people’s lives, I think, through better access to the financial system. But if the outcome is you get scammed, you lose your NFTs, you lose your Ethereum, like that’s, that’s bad for all of us. It doesn’t matter whether you’re developing a protocol or working on the core Ethereum network. Like, nobody wants that to happen.” – Ian Andrews (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis)

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

• (1:31) – Recap of Devcon Bogota 2022. Highlighting the Ethereum-focused blockchain developers and community
• (3:25) – Identifying consumer protection as the big “elephant in the room” for the Ethereum community
• (6:34) – Balancing the core blockchain ethos of decentralization with stopping bad actors and protecting consumers and institutions trying to operate in the space
• (9:50) – Analyzing the USDT Approval Mining Scam that was identified by MetaMask
• (14:05) – Identifying the cashout points used by the scam operators
• (17:55) – How the USDT approval mining scam has similar characteristics to the emerging Pig Butchering scam
• (21:25) – Collaboration of MetaMask and OpenSea to educate users on how to use a wallet and gain access to Web3
• (25:25) – Blockchain investigations tips for pursuing illicit activity on digital asset networks

Related resources

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Speakers on today’s episode

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