New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) will “expedite procurement”of blockchain analysis tools to help the agency enforce economic sanctions on Russia.
Blockchain analysis tools parse public blockchains and gather data, which can be used to identify individuals or entities transacting on-chain. Although on-chain transactions may appear illegible at first glance, the data contained within those transactions can reveal valuable patterns and insights to law enforcement agencies.
According to an NTDFS press release published on March 2nd, blockchain analysis tools “will bolster the Department of Financial Services ability to detect exposure among DFS-licensed virtual currency businesses to Russian individuals, banks and other entities that the Biden Administration has sanctioned.” (Governor Hochul’s Announcement)