A recently leaked video from Chainalysis suggests that transactions made with Monero, a cryptocurrency often touted for its privacy-securing features and its claim to be untraceable, might actually be traceable. The unnamed source indicated this leaked video had been shared with Cointelegraph before it was removed by Chainalysis.
The video highlighted methods Chainalysis uses to track Monero transactions, potentially undermining the cryptocurrency’s core promise of privacy and untraceability. A company spokesperson from Chainalysis declined to comment on the matter when Cointelegraph reached out.
Interestingly, pictures from the deleted video appeared on Reddit, posted by the user u/__lt__. According to the user, Chainalysis uses its own so-called “malicious nodes” to trace Monero transactions dating back to 2021. The user described Chainalysis’s potential method of tracing transactions by running multiple Monero nodes across various locations and ISPs to capture transaction IPs and timestamps.
Adding to the controversy, it’s speculated that the use of fake or “decoy” inputs could further decrease anonymity around Monero transactions. Monero itself has not yet issued a response to these findings.
Despite the initial concern, it’s important to remember that there’s no need for investors to worry about their privacy being compromised. Only Chainalysis, a top onchain intelligence firm, has demonstrated a potential capability to trace Monero transactions. The firm is just doing its job, according to Reddit user u/_It_, who compared Chainalysis to “whitehat hackers” that help to make Monero more secure.