Independent academic researchers from TU Delft Netherlands recently published the most granular evaluation to date of blockchain analysis at the 34th USENIX Security Symposium, one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed computer security conferences. For the first time in industry history, a blockchain intelligence vendor was publicly evaluated against a controlled dataset to assess its accuracy and coverage.
A blockchain intelligence solution is only as good as its underlying data, as its accuracy is vital to investigative and compliance needs. Data is the foundation for key actions, including:
- Tracing illicit funds and reliably securing actionable leads
- Reducing risk exposure to businesses and preventing money laundering
- Evaluating data for regulation and policymaking
The authors confirm what our customers already know: Chainalysis data is the most accurate and reliable with the lowest false positive rate and highest coverage.
How the study worked
Law enforcement seized the servers of three illicit services, gaining access to the complete source of truth of all crypto addresses controlled by the services. This enabled researchers to compare data vendors.
The paper compared the addresses known to be controlled by the three entities to the addresses Chainalysis attributed to those same entities. In blockchain analytics, entities, such as illicit actors, are commonly represented as clusters, or collections of addresses. Chainalysis regularly attributes entities, then groups together more addresses belonging to the attributed entity in a process we call clustering.
Chainalysis is the only vendor with peer-reviewed validation; others declined independent evaluation
The study was originally designed to evaluate multiple blockchain analysis vendors. However, as the published paper discloses, the competing commercial provider chose not to participate and even threatened legal action.
“Prior to submission, we did responsible disclosure to Chainalysis and to the second firm. Where the former responded very positively, thanking us for the insights, the second provider immediately responded with legal objections and threats.“
–USENIX report
Rather than resisting independent evaluation, Chainalysis welcomed it. If our data is going to be trusted in courtrooms, regulatory hearings, and high-stakes investigations, it must withstand rigorous testing. Additionally, by opening our data to scrutiny, we can identify the small number of false positives and negatives that do occur, and use those insights to continually refine our heuristics, clustering, and attribution methods.
The result: Proven accuracy and coverage
The paper evaluated “commercial blockchain intelligence market leader Chainalysis on three illicit services.” Across the three illicit services tested, our intelligence achieved true positive rates (or completeness of addresses clustered) of up to 94.85% clustered, with false positive rates below 0.15%.
For vendors underperforming against our level of data quality, there are negative real-world consequences:
- Inadvertent tracing through services: High false negatives can result in investigators and analysts tracing through a range of services leading to incorrect conclusions.
- Flawed intelligence and evidence: Inaccurate coverage risks missing critical leads to develop intelligence or secure evidence from compliant entities.
- Damaged credibility: At best, this wastes time and resources. At worst, it undermines the credibility of the entire investigation and risks errors in enforcement efforts.
Independent validation isn’t just academic, it’s crucial for credibility
The results confirm that Chainalysis provides highly reliable coverage of illicit services. Fewer errors don’t just save time; they protect the integrity of investigations. For instance, if data isn’t accurate, requesting agencies will likely receive irrelevant information from involved exchanges, which consequently would not be regarded as evidence.
- Fewer false positives = lower compliance cost
With <0.15% false positives, Chainalysis helps compliance teams spend less time chasing irrelevant alerts and more time resolving real risks. That means fewer wasted hours and fewer escalations to senior management. - Higher coverage = stronger investigations
With up to 95% coverage, ensures analysts don’t miss key leads. Missing even a small set of addresses can derail an investigation or create regulatory gaps.
- Defensible when it matters most
Data validated in peer-reviewed research is far easier to defend to regulators, auditors, and in legal proceedings. Customers can show their controls are based on independently proven intelligence.
In short: accuracy doesn’t just make blockchain investigations and compliance possible, it makes them credible, defensible, and successful.
The Chainalysis data engine fuels industry leadership
While the research centered on three specific services, the true catalyst for these results is the Chainalysis data flywheel. It is powered by the world’s largest global blockchain intelligence team, outnumbering the entire staff of many competitors, that continuously maps blockchain activity to real-world services, supported by sophisticated clustering heuristics developed by our R&D team at scale. Advanced algorithms then analyze and refine this data, generating actionable intelligence with unprecedented breadth and depth. At the same time, our expansive customer network validates findings and contributes fresh intelligence that strengthens our platform. This powerful cycle drives a continuously growing moat of intelligence.
| Chainalysis | Others | |
| Independently reviewed | ✅ | ❌ |
| Proven accuracy and coverage | ✅ | ❌ |
| Largest intelligence team | ✅ | ❌ |
| Largest customer data network | ✅ | ❌ |
Partnership delivers outcomes
The research reinforces a simple truth: the success of blockchain investigations is determined by the quality of the data behind them. We’ve seen the impact of reliable data used in some of the industry’s largest cases. In the Bitcoin Fog case, the judge ruled that Chainalysis data was “the product of reliable principles and methods” and admissible in U.S. federal court. In the Chowles case, when an NCA officer attempted to steal seized bitcoin, investigators used Chainalysis, in conjunction with other evidence, to follow the funds and prove the theft.
“All [agencies] used at least one commercial tracing tool… All used at least Chainalysis software, highlighting their position as market leaders in the field.“
–USENIX report
As the paper shows, accurate data and principled transparency are the foundation. But it is in partnership with our customers that those foundations become outcomes.
Looking ahead
Independent evaluation is healthy for our field, and we thank the researchers for their contribution. We will continue engaging with the academic community to test, refine, and validate our work.
Chainalysis is the most established provider in blockchain intelligence with over a decade of experience in the space. This research backs our expertise and data accuracy in a public, verifiable manner.
At Chainalysis, building trust in blockchains is not just a tagline. It’s an ongoing practice — one that backs our rigorous approaches to attributing and clustering, yielding industry-leading data accuracy. Want to learn more about our data or if you would like to see how Chainalysis provides reliable data for your application, request a demo.
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