The Bitcoin Forensic book is moving forward with a fantastic addition of a tech editor: Heather Mahalik!. I could not be more honored than to have Heather as the tech editor. If you are reading this, you already know who Heather is in the DFIR community, but if not, take a look here: Heather’s Bio.
A few things about the book.
Yes, it is tentatively titled “Bitcoin Forensics”, but the subtitle is “Cryptocurrency Investigations”. The intention is to not only cover Bitcoin, but the alternative coins (altcoins) as well. Coins such as Litecoin and Monero will be in the book because few investigations will have only one coin involved since converting from one coin to another in attempts to launder proceeds will most likely occur in every fraud investigation. I've had a few conversations about the anonymous coins, where tracing transactions is 'impossible'. There is always something you can do that benefits a case, even when something is seemingly impossible. The book will cover those difficult cases too.
Another thing…most analysts and investigators have not yet come across cryptocurrency in their investigations. Consider that if you are not looking for it, you will not find it, and by not looking for it, this will be the biggest hole in your investigation. Even if you find evidence of fraud/money laundering with cryptocurrency, you can easily miss important evidence that may not be found until later, if ever (such as this case). Our current lack of competence in this area only makes it easier for criminals to succeed. For the forensic analyst, you need to know not only the artifacts of cryptocurrency evidence, but also that what amounts to evidence (ie: what is evidence).
If you don’t believe Bitcoin (as in all types of cryptocurrency, not just Bitcoin) isn’t going to be a major method of financial transactions and part of most every money laundering, fraud, and IP theft case, consider that it already is, you just don't know it yet. The Bitcoin Forensics book will show the forensic artifacts along with the 'how money laundering works with cryptocurrency' in order to walk you through your first case and the next case and the next case and the...
As to cryptocurrency adoption in everyday life....it is already here.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/first-bitcoin-only-real-estate-transaction-completed-in-texas
A suggestion: You may want to buy a little Bitcoin to start your foundation of what you will be coming across in your cases...
If you haven't got into cryptocurrency yet and want $10 of free Bitcoin, use this referral link to sign up for a Coinbase account: https://www.coinbase.com/join/57c8a8bcded4fa009924eae5 .
Article Link: http://www.brettshavers.cc/index.php/brettsblog/entry/some-of-your-cases-probably-already-have-cryptocurrency-evidence-in-them