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Tracers in the Dark

The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency

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Tracers in the Dark

By: Andy Greenberg
Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
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About this listen

 From the award-winning author of Sandworm comes the propulsive story of a new breed of investigators who have cracked the Bitcoin blockchain, exposing once-anonymous realms of money, drugs, and violence. “I love the book… It reads like a thriller… These stories are amazing.” (Michael Lewis)

Over the last decade, a single innovation has massively fueled digital black markets: cryptocurrency. Crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely—whether in drug dealing, money laundering, or human trafficking—than their analog counterparts could have ever dreamed of. By transacting not in dollars or pounds but in currencies with anonymous ledgers, overseen by no government, beholden to no bankers, these black marketeers have sought to rob law enforcement of their chief method of cracking down on illicit finance: following the money.

But what if the centerpiece of this dark economy held a secret, fatal flaw? What if their currency wasn’t so cryptic after all? An investigator using the right mixture of technical wizardry, financial forensics, and old-fashioned persistence could uncover an entire world of wrongdoing.

Tracers in the Dark is a story of crime and pursuit unlike any other. With unprecedented access to the major players in federal law enforcement and private industry, veteran cybersecurity reporter Andy Greenberg tells an astonishing saga of criminal empires built and destroyed. He introduces an IRS agent with a defiant streak, a Bitcoin-tracing Danish entrepreneur, and a colorful ensemble of hardboiled agents and prosecutors as they delve deep into the crypto-underworld. The result is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of dirty cops, drug bazaars, trafficking rings, and the biggest takedown of an online narcotics market in the history of the Internet.

Utterly of our time, Tracers in the Dark is a cat-and-mouse story and a tale of a technological one-upmanship. Filled with canny maneuvering and shocking twists, it answers a provocative question: How would some of the world’s most brazen criminals behave if they were sure they could never get caught? Economics True Crime
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It is a fascinating story with enough detail to explain how the technology underlying it works.
If you've ever wondered about the claims about Bitcoin and the claims untracability, this book is a must.

Fascinating story, well told

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If you’re into Darknet markets then this book is for you. I couldn’t stop listening

Amazing book and narration

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Well researched and written detailed account of how crime investigators unravel and trace the money to a body that will ultimately be held accountable. Especially gratifying to know oedophiles have been and are being halted, traced and brought before the courts, all kinds of people still don’t know they have been busted - but they will.

Well researched, detailed and enthralling

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One of the best! Great stories, needs to be a blockbuster! Need to find more like this!

Seriously awesome!

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Excellent. A well researched telling of the investigations and how they brought these dark web sites down. Highly recommend.

Well read also.

Brilliant

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