In brief
- Binance is partnering with security software firm Oasis Labs to launch the CryptoSafe Alliance.
- Oasis Labs will provide infrastructure that allows crypto companies to share data and identify malicious activity without giving up trade secrets.
- Binance has previously assisted authorities in tracking down bad actors.
Binance announced today a partnership with Oasis Labs to launch the CryptoSafe Alliance, a global effort by crypto businesses to share security and anti-fraud intelligence.
According to Binance, alliance members will be able to share real-time intelligence on hacks and other malicious incidents privately without exposing user data to competitors. In other words, it will theoretically become easier to track stolen funds or trace money laundering activities because there’s no fear of losing a competitive edge.
Binance has a stake in the outcome. The exchange recently revealed close cooperation with Ukrainian authorities that helped take down a money laundering operation worth an alleged $42 million.
Binance secretly helped police bust $42 million crypto laundering ring
Crypto exchange Binance today revealed a secret security project that this year helped Ukrainian cyber police take down a criminal gang that authorities allege laundered $42 million through cryptocurrency exchanges over the past two years. Binance’s security team worked together with RegTech firm TRM to identify transactions between Binance and “Bulletproof Exchanger”—exchanges with relaxed identity checks perfect for criminals laundering money. Catching a cybercrime group behind a $42 million...
Though not as well-known as its partner, Oasis Labs has significant backing, and brings some privacy chops to the table. It raised $45 million in a 2018 seed round from investors, including venture capital firms a16z Crypto, Polychain Capital, Pantera Capital, and more.
By leveraging Oasis’ privacy software development kit (SDK), the CryptoSafe Alliance platform could provide tools for regulators, cybersecurity experts, and big industry players to combat bad actors.
Specifically, the platform would allow alliance members to aggregate and analyze sensitive exchange data without revealing the source or direct contents of the data itself.
According to Oasis Labs CEO and founder Dawn Song, "With the increasing focus on security and confidentiality, the CryptoSafe Platform leverages the Oasis Network to empower exchanges and other key players in the ecosystem to share threat analysis and reports without compromising sensitive data.”
The CryptoSafe Alliance platform, then, becomes a place where the industry can flag malicious addresses and wallets to clamp down on money laundering and rerouting of hacked funds.
Which is what Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said he wants. “Together,” he said, “we can make a concerted effort to safeguard the global cryptocurrency community through collaboration and open data sharing.”
