You want to get into Crypto… it’s not too late!

Crypto is back in the press again and for many reasons…this article has been written to give guidance to those who work in the traditional financial services space but are interested in transitioning into the new world… topics covered will include the systems used, where and how to access material to help your independent learning, certificates available to you and some guidance on the main differences, plus a peek into the future… 

Over my many years of recruiting specifically into the Financial Crime market, I haven’t seen too many seismic changes to the hiring principles for an Investigator: Good writing skills, good judgment needed and the knowing of when to ask for additional support to ensure a SAR is filed correctly or sent up the chain, and of course a good understanding of the systems being used. For the most part it is rare that a Bank will expect a specific system to have been used as a few operate in a similar way Fiserv, Actimize, Prime, ComplyAdvantage, Finergo, LexisNexis etc… don’t get me wrong, some clients will “prefer” that someone’s used their system before but a strong Investigator can usually be hired without specific system experience. 

Fast forward to now and the rise in needs for Investigators in the Digital Asset & mainly Cryptocurrency space… systems experience is either going to be a definitive need or will certainly be seen as a way for you to get that interview over the next person (who hasn’t used said system)! 

 

Let’s talk Systems

OK, so which systems are the main players in the Crypto space? I’ll start by stating that some do have their own proprietary systems, but most are using one of the following: TRM Labs, Chainalysis & Elliptic. These are the “main players” and most commonly seen in the space, especially with exchanges, with a few notable others including; Lukka (who recently acquired Coinfim), Breadcrumbs, Qlue, Hummingbird and Merkle Science. Most offer real time results and cover most cryptocurrencies and blockchain entity types. Like most systems they’ll all have their nuance and in time we will likely see more products from these platforms and some new systems appear too. 

So now you know which systems are typically used, what do you do next? Go check them all out, they all have their own sites and will likely share their partners (companies who use them) too. 

 

Education & Certifications available to you

There has always been training available for Compliance platforms and Crypto is certainly no different, There are links below to access a few we found including some that are completely free! As with your CAMS, or CFE, CIA etc, if you have the credential you should be adding this to your resume and LinkedIn page.

In the Crypto space, we typically see people having one or multiple of the following: 

• CCI / CCIA – Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator & Advanced Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator 
• CRC – Chainalysis Reactor Certification 
• CCAS – Certified Cryptoasset Anti-Financial Crime Specialist 
• TRM CCS – Crypto Compliance Specialist
• CCPC – Certified Compliance Professional in Cryptocurrency

In terms of the most recognized, from research we believe that the CCAS (by ACAMS) and CCPC can carry the most weight, when being presented to most employers. Both require or suggest experience in the field (typically 18-24+ months). I’d recommend your own reading, but from a very high level CCAS is more tailored to AML, specifically within Crypto and the CCPC leans more towards general compliance frameworks.

The majority of people who hold the CRC (Chainalysis) certificate tend to have worked for firms that use this tool, as it is necessary for day to day use and from all accounts is very granular, so training is definitely required. Katya Gozias shared her advice that someone looking to get into this space should “ start with a fundamentals of blockchain course, then get into crypto just to have a basic understanding”, Blockchain Council offers a few of these and a link is provided below. She also stated that she’s “noticed that people who currently or have worked in law enforcement tend to use TRM too”. I advise you to check out the links below to continue your own education before purchasing. 

In addition, there are a lot of resources available now for those who are just curious about this industry as a whole. Online platforms like Coursera, edX, and LinkedIn Learning can help you to learn some blockchain fundamentals, cryptocurrency mechanisms, and their regulatory implications. 

Christina Rea reminded me that if you’re already working in, or want to work in this field you should “keep on top of regulatory matters and pending changes, it is important to familiarize yourself with global frameworks like FATF guidelines, FinCEN guidance, and U.S. federal/state crypto compliance standards.” This information can all be found online of course, and will be constantly changing which in turn could be a positive thing for hiring trends. 

 

Is there really a difference to this work compared to a bank?

“Why do you need to re-train if you have 10 years’ worth of investigative experience working for Banks?”

Well for a start traditional banking systems typically rely on internal transaction data, while cryptocurrency & blockchain monitoring uses public (blockchain) data as well as off-chain information which is gathered constantly in the background, so there is an overwhelming amount of data which may be put in front of you.. you’ll need to know how to use and handle this. 

Transactions you see at a Bank will be linked to customer accounts, whereas crypto transactions are pseudonymous and will definitely require additional efforts to link transactions to real-world identities. Amongst many other reasons, transaction monitoring in the crypto space relies heavily on specialized tools to track and analyze transactions, a capability not required in traditional banking systems. 

Ultimately, there are not many people at this stage who think that decentralized currencies and technologies are going away, so if you do want to eventually get away from being tied to traditional financial services then a little reading and even training is going to be necessary! 

Christina stated that “the skills you’ve honed in traditional financial services are highly transferable!” and we broke this in to two standard categories: 

Risk Assessment: You should be ready to adapt your ability to assess risks to the unique challenges of cryptocurrency, such as fraud, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.

Investigative Techniques: You can definitely use your investigative skills to analyze suspicious activity reports (SARs) within blockchain data.

She also stated that “the crypto compliance community is welcoming and dynamic”. There are Professional Associations open to you, and you should look to join organizations like the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS) where you can connect with crypto professionals. Additionally you can attend industry events to learn from thought leaders and expand your network. If you look on LinkedIn you’ll see a lot of conferences and meetups available online at locations across the country! 

I’ve seen many people pivot into this space over the years of course and what is widely expected is that anyone who wants to grow in this industry will likely need to have a great foundation of knowledge on the basics which make up a good compliance profile. You should know how and why the basics of a financial crime and compliance program operate, i.e; how and why KYC, CTR, Transaction Monitoring tools are ran efficiently and knowing how to understand and them help mitigate risks associated to all areas of the financial industry with deposit, customer data checks etc and to know how the ecosystem works at least from a high level. From this foundation you can simply look to apply this skill set to crypto.. What is Bitcoin and how does it work? What is Ethereum? Being intellectually curious in your field tends to get you ahead, so treat this space as a learning platform and throw yourself in! One CCO even told me that he thinks that people with a foundational knowledge in the traditional space may do better than those who solely have experience in digital assets or crypto as the space will ultimately mature and companies will want to hire people who’ve operated in large functions and know how to deal with regulatory changes. 

The future…

So how could this new financial landscape affect general employment for Financial Crime & Compliance workers in the next 5-10 years? That’s a bigger question for another day, but what is clear is that more and more people are becoming active in the cryptocurrency space, more currencies are created every day and regulations continue to evolve, so it’s a very dynamic world to say the least. 

According to reports close to 15% of Americans currently own some form of cryptocurrency and well over 50% of these owners earn under $100k annually, so it is not something that only the wealthy are purchasing, it is becoming very widespread both here and globally too.

As of right now there are an estimated 300 million transactions processed per year strictly in the cryptocurrency space, many going through without investigation due to lack of strict regulations, meaning there we will continue to see fines (especially with the larger exchanges) and a need for workers to remediate this work!  

Christina added that “The crypto space evolves quickly, so a mindset of continuous learning is essential. Whether it’s exploring DeFi (Decentralized Finance), NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), or understanding the implications of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), staying curious and adaptable will set you apart.” 

I asked Katya if there’s any additional material available that she can suggest? She highly recommends the Crypto Launderers and Tracers in the Dark. This book came out in late ‘23 so is still very relevant and was written by David Carlisle, he’s spent the past 6 years working for Elliptic as their Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs and prior roles included work at the Treasury Dept.  

To share a quote from Adam Midden, who helped me to work through the landscape of current certifications & systems being used for this piece, “So much of the crypto space is still being developed and laid out, take the chance, push outside your comfort zone, and come along for the ride!”

 

Hiring 

Don’t think we wouldn’t get on to this topic! There are a number of large crypto exchanges based here in the US, the main players are of course Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Robinhood & Binance US but there are countless others who are HQ in other locations but will want AML & Compliance teams here in the US, due to their local knowledge of regulations. 

As the market continues to shift into this space, we’ll no doubt see more and more Fintechs and Banks starting to operate here too, plus you’ll see many trading businesses in this market from Fidelity & eToro to other exchanges like MEXC, Lykke, Phemex, Deribit, Crypto.com & Bitstamp. I have personally witnessed and supported hiring at large exchanges who come into the US from Asia & Europe in particular and they’ll continue to grow hubs and offices here, with companies like bitFlyer & Gate wanting to gain a piece of the US market. If you read into the activity of the market leaders in the Wealth & Investment space, you’ll see recent quotes like this one from the new Charles Schwab CEO “”We will get into spot crypto when the regulatory environment changes, and we do anticipate that it will change. We’re getting ready for that eventuality”. So it is simply a matter of when not if the mainstream financial services space adopts cryptocurrency. 

To quote a recent article on the Chainalysis website “Like previous years, North America remains the largest cryptocurrency market globally, with an estimated $1.3 trillion in on-chain value received between July 2023 and June 2024, representing about 22.5% of global activity”. It is safe to say that if you’re looking for a change and want to shift your career into the cryptocurrency space, it is definitely not too late!

 

Additional resources & courses available 

Here is one free course which shares a detailed overview of Crypto Transaction Monitoring: https://www.rawcompliancehub.com/course/transaction-monitoring-in-cryptocurrencies-certification  

ACAMS offer a self guided Crypto course also: https://www.acams.org/en/training/certificates/cryptoasset-and-blockchain  

TRM Labs has its own training guide: https://www.trmlabs.com/crypto-compliance-specialist 

Chainalysis too: https://www.chainalysis.com/chainalysis-certification-programs/ 

And Elliptic: https://www.elliptic.co/learn 

CCI & CCIA Certifications can be found here: https://cryptoinvestigatortraining.com/ 

CCPC certification: https://charteredcertifications.com/learning/courses/certified-compliance-professional-in-cryptocurrency-financial-crimes-ccpc

Blockchain Council courses: https://academy.blockchain-council.org/bundles/certified-cryptocurrency-expert

David Carlisle’s book “The Crypto Launderers: Crime and Cryptocurrencies from the Dark Web to DeFi and Beyond”: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-crypto-launderers/id6475177254 

With thanks to: