With an increase in digital currencies as a method of payment, the rapid advancements in this area since the introduction of the Blockchain in 2008 have increased the complexity of detecting suspicious payments. Understanding how cryptocurrency operates and its differences from traditional banking structures is critical to applying frameworks to detecting and preventing child sexual exploitation transactions.

ICMEC Australia’s November Brown Bag event featured Luke McGoldrick, Sales Director at Chainalysis, who discussed cryptocurrency, its capabilities, and the ways it has the potential to intersect with online child sexual exploitation.

Luke covered the different types of crypto, how they can be used to facilitate child sexual exploitation, and dispelled the idea that digital payments made on the blockchain are completely untraceable.