Entity type, Subtype and Description of service
Digital assets pass through a specific service, which include both legal and illegal businesses. We aggregate wallet addresses/transactions to detect and analyse the risk of a service before assigning them to specific entities and organisations (e.g., a particular exchange, mixing service, or darknet market, etc.). After attributing the entity, we group them into Entity Categories based on the real-world service to which it belongs.
Please find a description of those entities in the following table:
| Entity Type | Entity Subtype | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Coin Mixer | Decentralized | A decentralized mixing technology entity that enables users to use cryptocurrency anonymously; such entities conduct mixing without assuming custody of the coin. Examples: Wasabi Wallet, Whirlpool, and JoinMarket |
| Coin Mixer | Centralized | For-profit businesses that receive your coin and exchange it for other currencies at a fee. |
| Darknet | (None) | Addresses of entities discovered on the dark web |
| Darknet | Child Sexual Abuse Material Vendor | Entities who run websites that contain children's sexual material. |
| Darknet | Hitman Services | Entities that provide services in which one party pays a third party (commonly referred to as a hitman) to kill a specific person or group of individuals. |
| Darknet | Stolen Accounts Vendors | Entities that operate websites selling stolen account information. |
| Darknet | Human Trafficking | Entities that trade people for forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation. |
| Darknet | Compromised Credit Cards | Websites that sell hacked credit cards |
| Darknet | Narcotics and Controlled Substances Vendor | Websites offering illicit drugs and controlled substances such as marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, prescription medications, and other restricted substances. |
| Darknet | Weapons Vendor | Entities that run websites that illegally sell ammunition and illegal weapons. |
| Darknet | Darknet Vendor Shop | Dark web services allowing users to exchange cryptocurrency for goods or services offered by a single seller. |
| Darknet | Darknet Marketplace | Websites that allow users to trade cryptocurrency for products or services from numerous vendors on the dark web. |
| Darknet | Darknet Donation | Entities that have requested donations and are seen on the dark web. |
| Darknet | Adult Content | Entities which operate websites selling adult videos (pornographic content). |
| DeFi | Decentralized Exchange - AMM | A decentralized trading protocol that prices assets using a mathematical formula: Assets are valued using a pricing algorithm rather than an order book as expected from a typical exchange. Examples: Uniswap, Sushiswap, and other DEXs that follow AMM |
| DeFi | Decentralized Exchange - Aggregator | A decentralized exchange gathering trading pairs from several DEXes to offer the best price to users. Such services allow crypto traders to access a variety of trading pools from a single dashboard. Example: 1inch is a DEX aggregator example. |
| DeFi | Lending/Borrowing | Decentralized platforms in which users can lend/borrow their assets to others in return for interest payments received or paid. Examples: Aave, compound, MakerDao |
| DeFi | Insurance | Decentralized platforms that protect their customers against e.g. DAO attacks, Parity multi-sig wallet problems, smart contract hacking, and stable coin default. Examples: Nexus Mutual, Opium Insurance |
| DeFi | Yield Aggregator | A platform that maximizes user revenues by utilizing various DeFi protocols and techniques. Example: Harvest Finance. |
| DeFi | Bridges | Protocol where users can transfer funds from one blockchain to another. Example: Anyswap |
| DeFi | Asset Management | Protocol that provides asset management for tokenized assets. Examples: Set protocol and the value Defi. |
| DeFi | Derivatives | Tokens whose value is derived from the performance of an underlying asset, such as stock. Examples: Augur, synthetix, Uma |
| Donation | Charity (Political) | Donations are paid to a political trust, organization or to political campaigns. |
| Donation | Charity (Non-political) | Donations are made to a non-political trust or organization's funding. |
| Donation | Project Donation | Donations are given in support of a project's funding. |
| Donation | Tip Jar | Money donated to people on social networking sites. |
| Exchange | Mandatory KYC and AML | Exchanges that do not allow withdrawals without KYC verification of customers |
| Exchange | Optional KYC and AML | Exchanges which only need KYC for a portion of their users such as those requiring a daily withdrawal amount over a certain threshold. |
| Exchange | Inactive | Exchanges that are no longer being used for cryptocurrency trade. |
| Exchange | Decentralized (DEX) | A cryptocurrency exchange that operates without a centralized authority. Smart contracts are employed to match suppliers and buyers for trading. |
| Exchange | P2P | A peer-to-peer platform that allows a buyer and seller to trade directly with one another without the use of a third party enabling direct transfers of crypto/fiat between a user's deposit address and their bank account. |
| Exchange | OTC | An over-the-counter platform that allows the direct trading of cryptocurrencies/FIAT between two counterparties outside of a marketplace network. |
| Extortion | Sextortion | Addresses controlled by entities who contact victims stating their digital device has been compromised and then threaten the exposure of a victim's compromised information/recording unless a ransom is paid in Cryptocurrency. |
| Extortion | Blackmail | Cryptocurrency addresses are owned by entities involved in threatening people in return for cryptocurrency, mainly Bitcoin, as a form of extortion. |
| Gambling | Fiat and Crypto | Gambling companies that accept both regular fiat cash and cryptocurrency. |
| Gambling | Crypto only | Gambling establishments that accept only cryptocurrency deposits and Cryptocurrency withdrawals. |
| High Risk Organization | (None) | Entities engaged in criminal/illegal acts that, if linked to, might jeopardize a company's reputation. |
| High Risk Organization | Terrorist Organization | Terrorist-affiliated organizations that hold or manage cryptocurrency addresses. |
| High Risk Organization | Criminal Organization | Cryptocurrency addresses that have been designated as belonging to or controlled by criminal organizations. |
| High Risk Organization | Frozen Assets | Addresses of assets confiscated due to improper use of Crypto tokens or in response to requests from law enforcement authorities and large financial institutions. |
| High Risk Organization | Ukraine Entities | Entities or Crypto addresses belonging to the Ukraine region. |
| Law Enforcement | Seized Coins | Coins/tokens representing the proceeds of a computer intrusion or property used in money laundering that have been taken under criminal and civil forfeiture legislation. Law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, have confiscated cryptocurrency coins/tokens and transferred them from the criminal's wallet to the law enforcement's wallet. |
| Malware | Ransomware | Crypto-ransomware is a form of malicious software that encrypts data and files on a computer or mobile device to extract cryptocurrencies or money. |
| Malware | Cryptojacking | Cryptojacking is when thieves utilize an illegal computer, tablet, mobile phone, or connected home device to mine cryptocurrencies. |
| Mining Pool | Mining Pool | Entities whose primary purpose is to pool hashing power to mine cryptocurrencies. |
| Sanctions | OFAC | Cryptocurrency addresses listed on the Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) blacklist. |
| Sanctions | Entity from Sanctioned Country | A cryptocurrency address belonging to an entity based in a country that has international economic sanctions imposed against them. The sanction is typically a ban on trade, possibly limited to certain sectors such as armaments, or with certain exceptions. |
| Sanctions | OFAC Cluster | Cryptocurrency addresses, identified through clustering heuristics, as controlled by individuals/entities on the Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) blacklist. |
| Scam | Phishing | Cryptocurrency addresses belonging to companies involved in phishing - a form of a social engineering attack frequently used to obtain user data such as login credentials and credit card details. |
| Scam | Spam | Cryptocurrency addresses used by companies who send unauthorized messages to distribute malware or phishing to steal personal and financial information. |
| Scam | High Yield Investment Program | Cryptocurrency addresses belonging to entities participating in a fraudulent investment plan that promises very high returns on investment. Examples: Ponzi scams, Bitcoin doubler schemes |
| Scam | Exit Scam | Cryptocurrency addresses owned by companies participating in a fraudulent operation conducted by cryptocurrency promoters who abscond with investors' cash during or after an initial coin offering (ICO). |
| Scam | Fake ICO Scam | Cryptocurrency addresses controlled by fraudsters who spend some resource on professional-looking websites and marketing materials, such as a white paper, to gain investors' trust before stealing their money. |
| Scam | Impersonation Scam | Cryptocurrency addresses used by entities pretending to be someone else, such as a high-profile celebrity, a corporate employee, or a Bitcoin exchange, asking for private information or cryptocurrency payments. |
| Scam | Fake service | Cryptocurrency addresses owned by entities operating fake services to steal money from their users illegally. |
| Service | Entities that provide cryptocurrencies-related goods or services but are not exchanges. | |
| Service | Payment Gateway | Services that aid in the acceptance of cryptocurrency payments. |
| Service | Financial Service | A service managed and control by a central authority involved in the management, handling or provision of financial resources, assets, or, transactions. Examples: Crypto loans, escrow services |
| Service | Wallet Provider | Services that allow users to store cryptocurrency in wallets |
| Service | Marketplace | Services that enable users to trade cryptocurrency for products or services from a variety of suppliers |
| Service | Shop | Users can trade Bitcoin for products or services from a single seller using these services. |
| Service | Bitcoin Faucet | Services that reward users with cryptocurrency when they accomplish specific activities, like captchas or viewing advertisements. |
| Service | Custody | Services which are third party providers of storage and security services for cryptocurrencies. These are mainly aimed at institutional investors, such as hedge funds, who hold large amounts of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. |
| Service | Cryptocurrency ATM | Services which allow users to buy Bitcoins and other cryptocurrency using cash or a debit card |
| Service | Decentralized Finance (DeFi) | Services that enable users to engage with one another using smart contracts give rise to new financial services. |
| Smart Contract Platform | ICO | Cryptocurrency addresses controlled by companies that accept cryptocurrency investments as a type of crowdfunding. For example, in an ICO, a certain amount of cryptocurrency is offered to prospective purchasers in the form of "tokens" or "coins" in return for legal cash or other (more established and stable) cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. |
| Smart Contract Platform | DAPP | Cryptocurrency addresses decentralized apps that run on a peer-to-peer distributed network rather than on a single computer. Thus, there is no single entity in charge. |
| Smart Contract Platform | Token | To govern the issue of Bitcoins, cryptocurrency addresses were developed. Cryptocurrencies, also known as crypto tokens or crypto assets, are a form of virtual money based on the blockchain that can signify a purchase or service |