"Know to Catch"… Police Are Currently Studying Virtual Assets Intensively

Distribution of Practical Materials Analyzing Features
Including Summaries of Financial Crime Investigation Cases

On October 13, the National Police Agency signed a 'Business Agreement for Cooperation in Investigating Virtual Asset-Related Crimes and Preventing Damage' with major domestic virtual asset exchanges such as Gopax, Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone at the National Police Agency building in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency is producing and providing training materials that analyze the characteristics of representative virtual assets to strengthen investigative capabilities against virtual asset crimes.

On the 26th, the National Police Agency began distributing segmented knowledge on financial crime investigations to provincial police investigators. As part of enhancing field capabilities, this training, which started in May, features simplified theories and cases necessary for investigating financial crimes. Among these, many materials were distributed to improve frontline investigators' understanding of virtual assets, which have been particularly challenging due to unfamiliar concepts.

Reviewing these materials, the National Police Agency analyzed the characteristics of major virtual assets recently exploited in crimes, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dogecoin, Monero, and Tether. These virtual assets were categorized into coins and tokens, with Bitcoin, the largest by market capitalization, defined as "the first virtual asset designed so that the transaction ledger is managed by participants in the blockchain network." It was further explained that "there is a mining limit of 21 million coins," and "99% will be mined by 2033, with the remaining 1% to be mined over 107 years (2034?2140)."

Regarding Ethereum, ranked second in market capitalization, it was described as "a second-generation blockchain that allows recording various information beyond virtual assets." Ripple was explained as a centralized virtual asset, similar to securities, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reportedly viewing it as an unregistered security. For Doge, it was noted that developers from IBM issued it with a Shiba Inu mascot to satirize the investment frenzy in the virtual asset market. A characteristic mentioned was that it is issued every minute without a total issuance limit.

About Monero, a leading dark coin used in crimes, the National Police Agency stated that "it enhances the anonymity of existing virtual assets, making transaction tracking difficult." It added that it is often used in crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking, and that in the "Nth Room" case, criminal proceeds were concealed using Monero. However, it was noted that "tracking is not completely impossible," and "some tracking is possible using the Chainalysis program employed by the National Police Agency."

The National Police Agency also compared these virtual assets as follows: ▲Bitcoin = regular phone ▲Ethereum = smartphone ▲Ripple = corporate phone ▲Doge = toy phone ▲Monero = burner phone. A National Police Agency official said, "This is an effort to help frontline investigators understand."

The National Police Agency plans to continue this training until December 12. The materials also include information on tax law, accounting, and finance beyond virtual assets. A National Police Agency official said, "We have received questions from frontline investigators about the content, and the response has been positive," but added, "Since it relates to investigations, the number of views is not explosively high." The National Police Agency plans to compile the distributed materials and field inquiries into a booklet to be published early next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.