Cryptocurrency exchanges, more so than stock exchanges, are vulnerable to being hacked and becoming targets of other criminal activity. Security breaches have led to sizable losses for people who have had their digital currencies stolen, this determining more companies to begin offering protection against hacks, and AML Crypto is one on these.
But AML Crypto services are way wider than of other competitors they have. We spoke with the founder of the startup to find out why we should choose them when it comes to cryptocurrency stocks safety.
Startup Moldova: Hi, Vladimir! Please introduce us to your startup. What should we remember about it?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: At AML Crypto we are engaged in blockchain analytics, conducting investigations of crypto frauds, develop our own solution for AML (AntiMoney Laundering) and KYT (Know Your Transaction) in a visual manner. This allows to make the blockchain much more transparent, understandable and fair.
Startup Moldova: What makes you special? What innovative solution does your startup bring?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: Classic blockchain analytics solutions and well-known explorers provide information about transactions in an inconvenient tabular form. Billions of faceless wallet addresses don’t allow the user to quickly react when having a transaction:
What is the source of funds for a particular address?! Is it safe to interact with it? Will I have troubles with blocking later? What if the owner of this address transferred the stolen assets to me?
Despite the blockchain’s transparency, users who have become victims of scammers do not have tools that allows them to quickly figure out where the stolen assets were transferred and to understand through which exchanges the attacker is trying to launder the stolen assets. As a result, the victim can’t notify the exchanges in a timely manner about the fact of fraud.
It is widely known that in 2021 there were frauds worth $10 billion. Stolen assets pass through transit addresses, are exchanged for other tokens, and when converted into fiat funds, they dissolve through figureheads. The more time passes and the more steps the attacker makes, the less likely the victim is to return his assets. The speed of reaction and the timely notification of exchanges about stolen funds are of crucial importance.
Our solution allows any user to analyze the flow of assets in a simple visual form, see the affiliated addresses of users, various services, and exchanges. Every day, our employees create software algorithms and machine learning (AI) algorithms to mark up a large number of addresses. We calculate the risk-score considering the impact of each transaction. We study the schemes of scammers. But our work isn’t based on a reaction a scheme, we try to build our work ahead of the curve, for this, we study hidden data patterns, stable patterns of user behavior and cluster addresses in blockchains.
Startup Moldova: Where did the idea of this startup come from, from what necessity?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: Me and my co-founder worked many years in analytics – we implemented analytical systems for the banking sector, insurance and manufacture. In the process of implementing these projects, we looked towards bigger data, saw how skillful work with these data can bring additional value. Blockchain and the behavioral characteristics of people prompted us to experiment with cryptocurrencies data.
We started building analytical dashboards and saw consistent patterns. And at some point, we noticed that for most users, the blockchain isn’t transparent and not understandable. In a critical situation, ordinary users remain defenseless against scammers. Professional players such as exchanges, investment funds also don’t always have the proper tools to combat money laundering. Even an independent user when having transactions with a scammer who wants to launder funds, without knowing it, may also face law enforcement as a criminal too.
Startup Moldova: What difficulties did you have along the way?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: The main difficulty is the small number of qualified specialists in this field. That is why we had to build a system of internal training in blockchain technologies.
Startup Moldova: What is the target customer segment? Do you already have real clients?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: Our clients are blockchain projects, crypto exchanges, investment funds, independent crypto users, and state actors. All these segments have their own needs and we have products or services to offer to each of them. Our first client was a private investment fund. Now, we have more than 10 clients.
Startup Moldova: Did you manage to attract investments?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: We do not hurry to attract investments in the company, because we have a product in demand in a very promising niche. At the moment, we have enough money for rapid development. Recently, we managed to take a grant of 400.000 USD from the blockchain project Everscale
Startup Moldova: Introduce us to your team, please.
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: Our team currently includes 42 people working in small teams. The team is working mostly remote from around the world, when some fall asleep, others wake up and get to work. So, we can say that the startup is developing 24/24.
Everyone in our team is one of the best professional in his field. I could write about everyone’s experience in ten pages, but today we speak about the startup so I will introduce the founders only.
Me, Lazarev Vladimir – advisor, ideologist and strategist. I am the person who is always on move – conferences, negotiations, meeting – trying to make us known and trusted.
Alekseev Nikita – СОО of the company. He is the one to rally the team, plan the implementation of a new feature, find a way to solve a non-trivial task, make sure that the work brings not only results, but also pleasure to the team.
Startup Moldova: What growth and development plans do you have?
Vladimir Lazarev, AML Crypto founder: Our short-term goals are scaling, extend the team, finding new partners, increasing the quantity and quality of our technologies and solutions. We want to work more on visibility aspects– continue attending specialized conferences and exhibitions, increase the number of expert articles published on our behalf and use various advertising channels.
Startup Moldova: Thank you for the interview! Congratulations and good luck!
Dear community, we invite you to get to know AML Crypto on their website and Twitter page. Watch the #CunoasteComunitatea interviews below to find out the stories of the initiatives at the beginning of the path, but also of the successful ones, from our country!
