Legal Reference
Crypto actual delivery: what exchange records must prove
The CFTC's October 2026 proposal puts possession, control, internal ledgers, staking rights, and withdrawal records at the center of crypto delivery.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Intelligence Center
Technical analysis and legal guidance for attorneys navigating cryptocurrency evidence.
Subscribe via RSSLegal Reference
The SEC's crypto custody proposal and its evidence trail
The SEC's October 2026 proposal would create new crypto custody records. Counsel should know what they could prove, and what they could not.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Methodology
Fake crypto trading dashboards are not proof of loss
Two SEC complaints show why lawyers must separate a fake platform balance from transfers, returns, wallet tracing, and a defensible loss schedule.
Nick Kampe10 min read
Legal Reference
A public blockchain is not a records archive
CFTC staff said it would not object to blockchain recordkeeping, but a public explorer alone may not satisfy existing retention and production rules.
Nick Kampe10 min read
Legal Reference
Telegram evidence in crypto cases: beyond the screenshot
How attorneys can preserve, authenticate, and test Telegram messages that link users, wallet addresses, and cryptocurrency transactions in litigation.
Nick Kampe10 min read
Legal Reference
Tokenized stock evidence: which record proves ownership?
How attorneys should separate blockchain transfers, master securityholder files, custody records, and synthetic exposure in tokenized stock disputes.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Legal Reference
Sanctions and blockchain tracing: What an OFAC match proves
How attorneys should distinguish OFAC-listed addresses, vendor attributions, indirect transaction paths, ownership rules, and risk-score evidence.
Nick Kampe13 min read
Case Studies
Commingled scam funds: proving one victim's source and loss
How one victim proves source and loss when scam proceeds share wallets: evidence packet, fee reconciliation, allocation assumptions, petition-ready schedules.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Methodology
What a seizure-warrant trace reveals about blockchain evidence
A case study of DOJ's September 2026 Hamas crypto seizures, showing how sworn warrant records layer blockchain paths with service-provider evidence.
Nick Kampe13 min read
Methodology
One address, many actors: contract wallet attribution
Contract wallets and multisigs are not one-person accounts. Experts reconstruct owners, signers, modules, and relayers to attribute on-chain activity.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Methodology
Reproducible blockchain evidence beyond the explorer screenshot
Collecting blockchain evidence that another qualified analyst can reproduce: provenance fields, raw response hashes, query documentation, and label provenance.
Nick Kampe16 min read
Legal Reference
Wallet attribution and proposed Rule 104(b): judge vs jury roles
How proposed Rule 104(b) would reshape conditional relevance for wallet attribution evidence: what stays with the judge and what goes to the jury.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Legal Reference
Control is not ownership: UCC Article 12 and digital assets
How UCC Article 12 treats wallet and ledger control: what it proves, what it does not, qualifying purchasers, priority, and state-by-state enactment.
Nick Kampe13 min read
Education
Block time is not wall-clock time: finality, reorgs, timestamps
A block timestamp is a protocol input, not a certified clock. How inclusion, confirmations, finality, and reorgs shape timing evidence in litigation.
Nick Kampe16 min read
Methodology
What Bitcoin clusters prove and what CoinJoin and Payjoin break
Bitcoin address clustering is an analytical inference, not an on-chain fact. CoinJoin and Payjoin can break it. For attorneys evaluating tracing reports.
Nick Kampe13 min read
Legal Reference
Civil forfeiture is not restitution: how crypto victims get paid
How crypto victims get paid after a federal forfeiture: ownership claims, remission, restoration, and restitution, with deadlines and proof requirements.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Legal Reference
Discovery for wallets, exchanges, and devices: beyond the CSV
Draft discovery requests for native exchange data, device records, and authentication history, not bare CSVs, so your expert can tie transactions to users.
Nick Kampe13 min read
Methodology
Preserving crypto-native ESI before it disappears
Preserve crypto-native evidence before it disappears: wallets, devices, exchange records, and browser data, with a defensible hold and Rule 37(e) context.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Industry Analysis
Huione infrastructure seizure: chokepoints beyond the wallet
The June 2026 Huione seizure shows fraud counsel where to look beyond destination wallets: domains, cloud accounts, escrow services, and payment rails.
Nick Kampe16 min read
Legal Reference
A trace is not an asset freeze: Choosing a prejudgment remedy
Blockchain tracing locates crypto but restrains nothing. Choosing the prejudgment attachment, injunction, or receivership that actually preserves assets.
Nick Kampe14 min read
Methodology
Beyond the transaction hash: receipts, logs, and EVM traces
A transaction hash proves submission, not success. Receipts, event logs, and EVM traces answer whether execution succeeded and what assets moved.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Education
Token approvals, permits, and transfer attribution
Explains how ERC-20 approvals and permit signatures separate token ownership, transfer submission, delegated authority, and proof of owner intent.
Nick Kampe10 min read
Legal Reference
Evidence in crypto perpetual futures disputes
A practical evidence map for crypto perpetual disputes, separating blockchain records from venue data on orders, margin, funding, prices, and liquidations.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Legal Reference
Rule 1006 summaries in blockchain cases
A practical framework for admitting blockchain transaction summaries under Rule 1006 while preserving source access, reproducibility, and cross-examination.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Methodology
How an opposing expert's blockchain analysis can be challenged
How to identify weaknesses in an opposing blockchain expert report, test its methods, and prepare focused cross-examination or rebuttal testimony.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Education
Rug pulls and token fraud: what attorneys need to know
An attorney-focused guide to rug pull mechanics, on-chain evidence, smart-contract review, defendant attribution, and recovery steps in token fraud matters.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Education
Cryptocurrency in bankruptcy: a trustee's investigation checklist
A checklist for bankruptcy trustees and creditors' counsel to identify, trace, and value cryptocurrency assets during insolvency investigations.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Methodology
Why blockchain forensic reports fail Daubert scrutiny
Why blockchain forensic reports fail Daubert scrutiny, including opaque attribution, overstated clustering, missing reproducibility, and omitted limits.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Education
Stablecoin freeze options for USDT and USDC
How Tether and Circle can freeze USDT and USDC balances, what a freeze does and does not do, and how attorneys can seek timely relief in fraud cases.
Nick Kampe6 min read
Education
Cross-chain bridges and why they complicate asset tracing
An explanation of how cross-chain bridges interrupt blockchain transaction trails and the forensic methods used to reconnect funds across networks.
Nick Kampe7 min read
Education
Blockchain analyst vs. blockchain expert witness
How consulting and testifying blockchain experts differ in privilege, discovery, disclosures, and engagement planning for attorneys handling litigation.
Nick Kampe7 min read
Education
What happens when cryptocurrency is sent to the wrong address
Learn why a cryptocurrency transfer to the wrong address is usually irreversible, which recovery paths may remain, and how counsel can assess them.
Nick Kampe7 min read
Education
How to read a blockchain transaction: a guide for attorneys
Learn to interpret a blockchain transaction with public block explorers, from Ethereum fields and token transfers to Bitcoin inputs and evidentiary limits.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Education
Deconstructing a blockchain Ponzi: methodology and evidence
A forensic method for reconstructing a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, calculating victim losses, tracing operator withdrawals, and preparing litigation evidence.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Legal Reference
NFT ownership disputes and unresolved court questions
A guide to NFT ownership disputes, covering on-chain records, off-chain rights, transfer evidence, and questions courts have yet to resolve.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Legal Reference
Daubert and blockchain experts: what courts have said
A survey of how courts apply Daubert reliability standards to blockchain forensic testimony, the challenges experts face, and the methods courts examine.
Nick Kampe8 min read
Education
Smart contract disputes: when code is not law
A plain-language guide to smart contract disputes, explaining code execution, common conflicts, forensic analysis, and expert evidence in litigation.
Nick Kampe14 min read
Education
Self-custody vs. custodial wallets: what attorneys need to know
A guide to custodial and self-custody cryptocurrency wallets, the records each leaves behind, and how attorneys can establish control in litigation.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Legal Reference
Blockchain evidence admissibility in federal and Missouri courts
How Federal Rules of Evidence 901 and 902 apply to blockchain records, with Missouri authentication standards and Daubert considerations for attorneys.
Nick Kampe15 min read
Legal Reference
How to subpoena cryptocurrency exchange records
A practical guide to subpoenaing cryptocurrency exchanges, covering available records, request terms, cross-border hurdles, and forensic analysis.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Education
What lawyers need to know about DeFi
A plain-language guide for attorneys on how DeFi protocols work, why they complicate asset tracing, and what forensic analysis can establish.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Methodology
Common mistakes in cryptocurrency investigations
Eight common mistakes in cryptocurrency investigations, from delayed evidence preservation to weak attribution, and how they compromise a case.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Legal Reference
Blockchain evidence in litigation: admissibility and practice
A guide to authenticating blockchain evidence in federal and Missouri litigation, covering Rules 901 and 902, Daubert reliability, and chain of custody.
Nick Kampe13 min read
Education
Understanding wallet ownership evidence
A guide to proving cryptocurrency wallet ownership in litigation, covering private keys, exchange records, device forensics, and signed messages.
Nick Kampe11 min read
Education
Can blockchain transactions be traced? A primer for attorneys
An attorney-focused explanation of tracing public blockchain transactions, address attribution, exchange records, and the limits of on-chain evidence.
Nick Kampe12 min read
Education
How cryptocurrency is hidden during divorce in Missouri
A guide for Missouri family law attorneys on identifying concealed cryptocurrency in divorce through discovery, exchange records, and blockchain tracing.
Nick Kampe12 min read