Data-driven method to analyse illicit payment cross-ledger flows in DeFi-ecosystems 

Illegal payment flows are increasingly obscured by Decentralized Finance (DeFi) services. The use of these services complicates the already difficult traceability of payment flows, challenges existing analysis tools, and presents unresolved challenges to authorities. 

The aim of the DeFiTrace project is to develop new algorithmic solutions for the automated analysis of illegal payment flows in ledger-crossing DeFi ecosystems. The resulting algorithmic methods and tools aim to enable a more efficient and effective tracking of incriminated funds through complex, ledger-crossing decentralized financial constructs, as well as support empirical enforcement of regulatory measures. 

The project is accompanied by addressing legal and regulatory questions in the context of current regulatory developments (MiCA and DAC8) and the establishment of inter-agency training and continuing education standards in the field of crypto assets.

Facts

• Project start: 01.10.2023
• Project duration (in months): 24 months
• Budget: ca. 800k EUR
• Funding: KIRAS, Kooperative F&E-Projekte, KIRAS Kooperative CS F&E Projekte (KFE CS_2022) https://projekte.ffg.at/projekt/4866628
• Project partners: Complexity Science Hub Vienna, Bundesministerium für Justiz, Universität Innsbruck, Iknaio Cryptoasset Analytics GmbH, Bundesministerium für Inneres, Bundesministerium für Finanzen
• Project website: https://defitrace.info