CCA Blockchain Forensic Analysis 4

Question 1

What is the main forensic challenge posed by the Lightning Network compared to on-chain Bitcoin transactions?

Accepted Answer

Lightning payment channels route funds off-chain, leaving minimal publicly traceable records

Answer

Only channel open and close transactions are broadcast on-chain; intermediate routing payments are private, creating significant gaps in the on-chain audit trail.

Question 2

A suspect's wallet shows a pattern of transactions just below $10,000 in crypto converted to fiat at multiple exchanges over several days. This behavior is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Structuring (smurfing) to evade CTR reporting thresholds

Answer

Structuring (smurfing) involves breaking large sums into sub-threshold transactions to avoid triggering Currency Transaction Reports required above $10,000.

Question 3

When analyzing a Monero transaction, which feature makes traditional blockchain tracing techniques largely ineffective?

Accepted Answer

Ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT obscure sender, recipient, and amount

Answer

Monero's combination of ring signatures (sender obfuscation), stealth addresses (recipient obfuscation), and RingCT (amount hiding) defeats standard UTXO clustering heuristics.

Question 4

In blockchain forensics, what does 'graph analysis' specifically refer to?

Accepted Answer

Modeling addresses and transactions as nodes and edges to identify clusters, flows, and patterns

Answer

Transaction graph analysis maps addresses as nodes and value transfers as directed edges, enabling analysts to visualize fund flows and identify entity clusters.

Question 5

An investigator receives an exchange's KYC record linking a deposit address to a verified user. What is the next forensic step to expand attribution across the suspect's entire wallet?

Accepted Answer

Apply clustering heuristics to the known address to identify co-owned addresses across the blockchain

Answer

Once a seed address is attributed, applying CIOH and change-address heuristics expands the cluster to reveal the full scope of the suspect's on-chain activity.

(CCA) Certified Cryptocurrency Auditor Practice Test

(CCA) Certified Cryptocurrency Auditor Practice Test

CCA Blockchain Forensic Analysis 4