Top 10 OSINT Tools for Investigating Cryptocurrencies
Open Source Intelligence, or OSINT for short, is a process for collecting and analyzing publicly accessible data. This phrase is mostly used in operational security (OPSEC) and IT security practices.
It should be noted that in this context, “open-sourced” does not refer to the tool or program being used; rather, it refers to the public nature of the data being analyzed, which anybody, with the appropriate resources may access from anywhere in the world.
These days, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is essential to cryptocurrency research in the blockchain or cryptocurrency business. Given the decentralized and pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies, using conventional investigation techniques would undoubtedly fail to reveal any illegal activity.
With the use of OSINT technologies, investigators may obtain information from publicly accessible sources, identify cybercriminals, follow down fraudulent activity, and reduce the dangers connected with cryptocurrency.
OSINT gives researchers the ability to track money across addresses, keep an eye on blockchain transactions, and spot suspicious activity patterns when conducting cryptocurrency investigations.
Investigators can obtain information from social media sites, online groups, and public forums frequented by cryptocurrency users by utilizing OSINT technologies.
Insights into the conduct of dishonest individuals, including hackers, con artists, and money launderers, may be gained from this data, enabling law enforcement and regulatory organizations to take the necessary measures to prevent financial crimes.
All things considered, OSINT is for improving security, accountability, and transparency in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Through the use of sophisticated analytical tools and publicly accessible data, investigators and stakeholders may obtain a deeper comprehension of the crypto market’s dynamics, detect new dangers, and safeguard themselves against any hazards.
In this piece, we are going to explore open-source intelligence tools we can use to investigate cryptocurrencies by diving into blockchain explorers and cryptocurrency analytics platforms.
OSINT Blockchain Explorers
A blockchain explorer is a tool used to view and explore all the information on a blockchain including transactions, blocks, addresses, and network metrics.
It is a web-based application that provides a friendly user interface that allows users to view and interact with the data stored on a blockchain. One can utilize the explorer via its user interface to search, retrieve, and analyze information about transactions, addresses, blocks, and other relevant data within a blockchain network.
You can put it this way; the blockchain is the internet and a blockchain explorer is a search engine specifically designed for querying blockchain data. While most of the data on the blockchain is stored in a decentralized and immutable ledger, an explorer makes this complex data accessible to users in an understandable and organized manner.
Examples of blockchain explorers include:
1. Bitquery Explorer
Bitquery is a blockchain data platform with a wide range of product suites which include APIs, Real-time Streaming Data, Coinpath APIs, and other Enterprise products. It also possesses a powerful explorer that supports 40+ blockchain networks with additional support for custom querying via its publicly available APIs on its IDE once you create a free account on the platform.
The explorer is open-source and the GitHub repository can be found here.
Now, let’s take a look at the explorer. Clicking his link takes us to the main explorer page where you can see a lot of blockchain networks and different categories to choose from.
It also has a unique feature. When you enter an address on the search bar, it scans the address on multiple blockchain networks and returns the result.
You can skip this feature too by hitting on the dropdown selection and clicking on the blockchain you want in particular.
Key features offered by the explorer include but are not limited to;
- Address Overview
- NFTs on Address
- Transactions
- Inflow
- Outflow
- Calls Contracts
- DEX Trades
- Money Flow
2. Etherscan
Etherscan is a dedicated explorer solely for the Ethereum blockchain. With etherscan, you can view transactions, latest blocks, gas, ETH price, search for an address, transaction hash, token or domain name (ens), and the network status.
3. Arbiscan
This is an explorer for the Arbitrum Network, a layer-2 chain for scaling Ethereum. The explorer looks and functions the same way as Etherscan as it is built by the same team.
4. BscScan
A block explorer and analytics platform for the BNB Smart Chain. The explorer looks and functions the same way as Etherscan as it is built by the same team.
A key thing to note about most blockchain explorers is that it is always designed to support only one blockchain network, as building one that is versatile or multichain is pretty hard.
Other popular blockchain explorers include:
- Solscan — Solana Blockchain
- Polygonscan — Polygon Blockchain
- Tronscan — Tron Blockchain
- Xrpscan — Ripple Ledger (XRP)
OSINT Crypto Analysis Tools
A crypto analysis platform can be software, an application, a website, or even a company. These are platforms where users can gain information on cryptocurrencies in-depth. They offer full-blown services to users who wish to either invest, research or investigate crypto assets (coins, tokens, NFTs, tokenized RWAs). These platforms can be free or may require payment/subscription to use as most services are highly advanced.
1. Bitquery Coinpath®
Bitquery is a leading company in the blockchain data & analytics industry hosting a very powerful product suite including data APIs for 40+ chains.
Bitquery’s Coinpath offers a set of blockchain money tracing APIs powered by an advanced mathematical algorithm.
Watch this tutorial to understand how you can track complex hacks and investigate fund movement through the blockchain
2. Messari
Messari is a crypto intelligence platform where you can gain information on assets, protocols, and crypto exchanges. It is also a pit-stop for research reports on the crypto industry where you can read up on all the latest happenings in the industry, including whale movement and top assets performance.
3. DeFi Llama
DeFi Llama is one the largest TVL aggregator for DeFi (Decentralized Finance). The platform data is fully open-source and maintained by a team of passionate individuals and contributors from hundreds of protocols. With DeFi Llama, you can scan through hundreds of DeFi protocols, track the total value locked for a project, and compare with other projects too.
4. ScopeScan
This is an application fully powered by the Scope Knowledge Graph, which allows the creation of real-time profiles with meaningful connections. The platform also allows users to analyze entities such Venture Capital, top holders of specific tokens, influencers, developers, rug pulls, scams, and more.
5. Chainalysis
This is a cloud-based blockchain monitoring and investigation solution designed to bring trust and transparency across blockchain ecosystems. As seen, this platform is mostly used by banks, businesses, and governments for tackling crypto challenges, regulatory compliance, and operational safety.
6. Scam Search
ScamSearch is a free public database of reported scammer details, including their email address, phone number, username, website and crypto address. You can use the platform by entering either a photo, address or email address and hit search. The platform achieves by gathering information from the Dark Net, Deep Net and Public Net on Scammers.
7. Arkham Intelligence
Arkham Intelligence is a blockchain analytics platform that aims to transform complex blockchain data into refined and actionable insights. The platform leverages advanced data science and artificial intelligence techniques to filter, interpret, and present data in a user-friendly manner.
8. CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap is one of the top platforms providing detailed information and statistics on different cryptocurrencies. It provides real-time price tracking, market capitalization estimates, trading volume information, historical price charts, and other important metrics for basic fundamental analysis.
Most investors, traders, and crypto enthusiasts use CoinMarketCap extensively to keep an eye on market trends and know when to ape into their favorite coins and tokens.
9. Coingecko
Coingecko is another crypto data platform that offers a wide range of tools and services to users for them to track, analyze, and even compare cryptocurrencies. It is almost similar to CoinMarketCap, but one might prefer to use one to the other. Both CoinMarketCap and Coingecko have a vibrant community and learning resources for those looking to get started on both platforms.
10. CoinMetrics
Founded in 2017 as an open-source project, Coin Metrics is a crypto data analytics platform that aggregates network data metrics for crypto assets. The platform also covers research topics in crypto, market movement, and network activity.
Conclusion
Knowing the right source to gather information about a crypto project or asset is crucial as it is the backbone of proper due diligence in cryptocurrency investing. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is gaining more relevance as it aids research, information identification, and verification of any crypto asset that is publicly available.
Individuals can use a crypto analysis platform like Bitquery’s Coinpath to track illegal funds and monitor in real-time the money flow from an address plus its transactions to any other address or exchange.
As listed in this piece, several platforms provide valuable and actionable data, and each platform comes with its set of strengths and weaknesses.
A valid tip would be to choose a platform that has readily available data (both real-time and archived), reliable up-time, and multiple blockchain support. Using a platform with few or a single blockchain network support can hinder crypto investigation, thereby limiting access to information that can be obtained on-chain.
