Binance, Coinbase among first members to join TRM Lab's crime-stopped Beacon Network alongside law enforcement

Binance, Bitfinex, Coinbase, Crypto.com, HTX, Kraken, PayPal, Poloniex, Ripple, and Zodia Custody, among others, have all signed on as the earliest users of the Beacon Network, a new crime-stopping initiative led by analytics platform TRM Labs.

The group, together with leading federal law enforcement agencies, is looking to stamp down on crypto crime by flagging addresses and critical threats in real-time, hoping to sound the alarm early enough to prevent bad actors from cashing out, according to Wednesday’s statement.

"Protecting consumers and safeguarding the integrity of the crypto ecosystem requires seamless collaboration across industry and law enforcement," Chief Compliance Officer at Kraken CJ Rinaldi said in a statement.

The so-called Beacon Network works by attempting to dissolve barriers between would-be competitors for the greater sense of the crypto ecosystem. The surveillance apparatus features four main services, including the "flagging and propagation" of suspicious activity, "real time alerts" sent when suspicious funds arrive at a participating firm, and “rapid response” to proactively review and hold flagged deposits.

According to the announcement, affiliation to the Beacon Network is free and opt-in for verified exchanges and law enforcement partners.

"There’s no program like Beacon Network," Coinbase Global Head of Anti-Money Laundering Valerie-Leila Jaber said. "It’s a true early warning system that helps us identify and freeze illicit assets so law enforcement can recover them. That’s critical for protecting victims and safeguarding the broader ecosystem. Access to real-time intelligence is a game changer."

TRM Labs estimates that at least $47 billion in cryptocurrency has been sent to fraud-related addresses since 2023.

In particular, the group will be focused on stopping funds from leaving the crypto ecosystem, particularly from attacks perpetrated by North Korean hackers, ransomware users, terrorist financiers, and CSAM-related financial flows.

In general, any vetted member, law enforcement member, or well-known security researcher will be able to submit a claim to track and attempt to free funds. The group will be open to stablecoin issuers, DeFi platforms, centralized exchanges, security researchers, and other trusted members of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.