recently, National Bureau of Investigation The Finnish National Police Agency (NBI) has announced that it has discovered a way to track cryptocurrencies. Monerois known for its privacy.
However, the currency's privacy enthusiasts rejected the authorities' claims, stressing that Monero remains untraceable.
Let's find out more below.
Cryptoprivacy controversy: Monero’s resistance to traceability in Finland
As expected, Finland's law enforcement agency, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), recently announced that it had discovered a way to identify individuals using the cryptocurrency Monero (XMR). launder money.
This statement was made in connection with the following incident. Julius Alexanteli Kivimaki He is suspected of being responsible for a cyberattack on Vastaamo, a private provider of psychotherapy services.
Finnish authorities have long suspected that Kivimäki was the computer criminal responsible for breaching Vastaamo's patient database in October 2020.
After accessing patients' medical records, Kivimaki demanded 40 Bitcoins (BTC) in exchange for not disclosing such information, which also amounted to blackmailing Vastaamo's 30,000 patients.
About two years later, the NBI identified Kivimäki as a hacker and charged him with various crimes, including: data breaches, attempted extortion; Invasion of privacy, tampering with evidence.
Based on an Interpol arrest warrant, Kivimäki was arrested in early February 2023 and subsequently extradited to Finland.
Even though the NBI claims to have discovered Monero during the investigation process, the published report states: There is little verifiable evidence.
Marco ReposenThe head of the investigation defended the decision not to disclose details about the traceability of XMR transactions.
Although the report provides details, it does not provide much information about how the NBI identified Kibimaki.
However, it has been revealed that hackers attempted to convert BTC to XMR and transfer funds transfers between different platforms.
NBI’s controversial claims regarding Monero traceability
Meanwhile, some supporters of Monero's cryptocurrency privacy reject the Finnish police authorities' statement.
According to the latter, in the case in question, No trace of Monero transactions.
upon reddit, One user put forward the hypothesis that the NBI's success was limited to identifying “specific individuals who traded Monero in traceable cryptocurrencies using centralized exchanges.”
They also noticed similarities in the amounts and deduced that it was the same Monero. Regarding XMR traceability, users emphasized that it has not yet been achieved.
Another participant suggested that the only progress made by the authorities was the realization that “the same amount was exchanged from Bitcoin to Monero and then deposited into Binance.”
A quick focus on Monero (XMR) price
Recently, Monero (XMR) has increased in value. 3.51%, It amounts to about $156.92.
This indicates its continuation positive trend During this time, Monero (XMR) registered an increase of 1.0%, rising from $154.21 to its current value.
Recall that the current all-time high for this cryptocurrency is $542.33.
Additionally, last week, Monero trading volume decreased by 13.0%, while circulating supply increased slightly by 0.05%, and total supply 18.15 million XMR.
In conclusion, based on the latest data, Monero currently ranks 29th in terms of market capitalization, with a value of $2.84 billion.
