A

Address Attribution  The process of associating a blockchain address with a wallet, service, entity, or individual using available evidence. Attribution does not, by itself, establish legal ownership or control.

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Address Clustering  An analytical technique that groups addresses potentially controlled by the same entity, based on transaction patterns and other evidence. Results can be uncertain.

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Asset Discovery  The identification of additional wallets, assets, services, accounts, or transaction paths suggested by the evidence examined.

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Asset Dissipation  The expenditure, transfer, reduction, or disposition of assets. Whether activity constitutes legally relevant dissipation is a question for counsel or a court.

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Asset Snapshot  A summary of identified digital asset holdings and estimated values at a specified date and time.

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B

Blockchain  A distributed digital ledger recording transactions and other information in cryptographically linked blocks.

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Blockchain Explorer  A tool for viewing publicly available blockchain transactions, addresses, blocks, and related records.

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Blockchain Forensics  The analysis of blockchain data and supporting evidence to examine asset movement, transaction relationships, and investigative leads.

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Blockchain Network  The participants, software, and rules maintaining a particular blockchain.

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Bridge (Cross-Chain Bridge)  A protocol or service that facilitates transferring or representing digital assets between blockchain networks. Mechanisms differ by bridge.

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C

Centralized Exchange (CEX)  A service-operated cryptocurrency platform that facilitates trading and may hold assets or maintain customer accounts.

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Cold Wallet  A wallet whose private keys are kept offline or isolated from internet-connected systems.

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Consolidation Transaction  A transaction or series of transactions combining assets from several addresses or outputs into fewer destinations.

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Counterparty  A person, entity, service, account, or address on the other side of a transaction or otherwise involved in the activity examined.

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Cross-Chain Transaction  Activity moving or exchanging assets, or representations of assets, between blockchain networks.

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Cryptocurrency  A digital asset employing cryptography and generally recorded or transferred using blockchain or related distributed-ledger technology.

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Custodial Wallet  An arrangement in which a third-party service manages private keys or holds digital assets for a customer.

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D

Decentralized Exchange (DEX)  A blockchain-based protocol that facilitates token trading, often using smart contracts.

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Decentralized Finance (DeFi)  Blockchain-based financial applications such as lending, borrowing, trading, staking, and liquidity provision.

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Digital Asset  A digital representation of value or rights; in these materials, primarily cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based tokens.

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Disclosure Gap  A missing item, discrepancy, or unresolved question identified when comparing disclosed information with other records or blockchain activity. It does not alone establish concealment.

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Dormant Assets  Assets associated with addresses or outputs that show no observed outgoing movement within a defined period. Dormancy does not establish abandonment or recoverability.

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E

Exchange Deposit  A cryptocurrency transfer to an address associated with an exchange. The receiving exchange account holder may not be identifiable from the blockchain alone.

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Exchange Withdrawal  A cryptocurrency transfer from an exchange-controlled account or address to another blockchain address.

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F

Fiat Currency  Government-issued currency, such as the U.S. dollar.

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Fiat On-Ramp  A service or process for converting traditional currency into cryptocurrency.

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Fiat Off-Ramp  A service or process for converting cryptocurrency into traditional currency.

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Financial Reconciliation  Comparing financial and transaction records to account for relevant amounts, identify differences, and avoid double-counting.

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Freeze or Blacklist  A restriction imposed by an issuer, service, or other authorized mechanism that may block transfers or access to particular assets or accounts.

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G

Gas Fee  A network fee paid for transaction processing or smart-contract operations on certain blockchains.

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H

Hot Wallet  A wallet with a key-management or signing environment accessible through an internet-connected system.

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I

Investigative Lead  Information suggesting an address, account, transaction, person, entity, or service that may warrant additional examination.

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K

Know Your Customer (KYC)  Identity-verification and due-diligence procedures used by certain financial institutions and virtual asset service providers.

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L

Liquidity Pool  Digital assets contributed to a protocol to facilitate functions such as token swaps, lending, or borrowing.

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M

Material Inflows and Outflows  Incoming or outgoing transactions considered significant to the questions and scope of an investigation.

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Mixer or Mixing Service  A tool, service, or protocol that can obscure links between cryptocurrency sources and destinations. Use alone does not establish wrongdoing.

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Multi-Signature Wallet  A wallet requiring more than one authorized cryptographic signature for particular transactions.

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N

Non-Custodial Wallet  A wallet arrangement in which the user or designated controller manages the private keys rather than a custodial provider.

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Non-Fungible Token (NFT)  A token associated with a distinct identifier and often used to represent or reference a particular digital item or right.

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O

Off-Chain Activity  Activity not individually recorded on a public blockchain, such as an internal exchange ledger transfer.

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On-Chain Activity  Transactions, token movements, smart-contract interactions, and other events recorded on a blockchain.

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Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)  Collection and analysis of lawfully accessible public information to identify relevant entities, relationships, and leads.

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P

Portfolio Valuation  An estimate of identified asset holdings at a documented date and time using specified prices and balance evidence.

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Private Key  Secret cryptographic information that permits authorization of transactions or control over associated digital assets.

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Public Key  Cryptographic information related to a private key that can be used in some blockchain systems to verify signatures.

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R

Records Gap Review  Comparison of available records and disclosures with identified activity to locate missing documentation, incomplete periods, or unresolved inconsistencies.

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Recovery Phrase (Seed Phrase)  Words used by many wallet systems to restore cryptographic keys. Disclosure may enable unauthorized control of assets.

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S

Smart Contract  Software deployed to a blockchain that executes programmed functions.

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Source-of-Funds Analysis  Review of transaction history and available records to examine where specific assets or their funding originated.

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Stablecoin  A token designed to reference the value of an asset such as the U.S. dollar; its market value is not guaranteed.

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Staking  Participation in certain blockchain or protocol arrangements using committed or delegated assets, sometimes with rewards.

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Swap  An exchange of one cryptocurrency or token for another through a service or protocol.

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T

Token  A digital asset represented on a blockchain, commonly through a smart contract.

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Token Approval  Authorization given to a smart contract or address to transfer or use tokens subject to specified conditions.

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Transaction Hash (TXID)  A transaction identifier used to locate or reference a transaction on its blockchain.

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Transaction Timeline  A chronological presentation of relevant transactions, communications, records, and events.

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Transaction Tracing  Following transfers and related activity through blockchain addresses, outputs, services, or protocols.

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Transaction Fee  A charge associated with processing a blockchain transaction or operation.

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U

Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO)  An output of a previous transaction not yet spent, available for use as an input on UTXO-based blockchains such as Bitcoin.

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Use-of-Funds Analysis  Analysis of how specified assets were transferred, exchanged, deployed, or otherwise used based on available evidence.

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V

Valuation Date  The date, and when relevant the time, used to calculate estimated asset values.

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Vector of Compromise  A suspected pathway or method used to obtain unauthorized access or authorization, such as phishing or malicious approvals.

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Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP)  A person or business providing certain virtual asset services, including exchange, transfer, or custody, as defined by the relevant regulatory framework.

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W

Wallet  A hardware, software, or other arrangement for managing cryptographic keys and interacting with digital assets. One wallet may manage multiple addresses.

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Wallet Address  A blockchain identifier for receiving or interacting with assets; it does not independently identify an owner.

Wallet Attribution  Analysis associating a wallet or address with an entity or person using available evidence, subject to evidentiary limitations.

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Wallet Monitoring  Observation of specified addresses for publicly visible incoming, outgoing, or other relevant blockchain activity.

Wallet & Portfolio Review  Review of specified wallets and available records to summarize assets, balances, relevant activity, and estimated values.

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Z

Zero-Knowledge Proof  A cryptographic method for proving a statement without revealing specified underlying information.