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Setting Standards in Blockchain Intelligence: Addressing Complexity in Crypto-Asset Transactions
Publications by Diana Patrut

Setting Standards in Blockchain Intelligence: Addressing Complexity in Crypto-Asset Transactions

Vienna, Austria – September 23–24, 2025

At the 4th INTERPOL New Technologies Forum (NTF) in Vienna, I had the honor of contributing to discussions on how law enforcement and compliance professionals can address one of the most urgent challenges in our field: the increasing volume and complexity of crypto-asset transaction data.

My presentation, “Crypto STRs & SARs – Best Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities”, focused on the critical role of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in detecting illicit financial flows, and on why clear standards are needed to ensure that this data is not only collected, but also actionable

The Challenge: Volume and Complexity in Crypto Transaction Data

As adoption of crypto-assets grows, investigative and compliance teams face:

  • Rising Volume of Reports: Thousands of crypto-related STRs and SARs are filed, but without prioritization, investigators risk being overwhelmed.
  • Data Fragmentation: Obfuscation tools, mixers, chain-hopping, and inconsistent exchange practices create messy, multi-jurisdictional datasets.
  • Investigative Barriers: Technical gaps, siloed tools, and differing national regulations make it difficult to connect intelligence across borders.

This is not simply a matter of scale, but of complexity. Without coherent frameworks, critical red flags may go unnoticed, leaving vulnerabilities that criminals can exploit.

The Role of Standards

I emphasized that standards are the foundation for clarity and trust in blockchain intelligence. They can:

  • Establish common red flags and typologies of risk.
  • Improve the quality of reporting, reducing noise in STRs/SARs.
  • Enable cross-border interoperability, ensuring that data can be shared effectively between agencies.
  • Provide a transparent baseline for accountability across the crypto ecosystem.

As I concluded in Vienna:

“Failing to establish standards doesn’t make challenges disappear—it creates space for exploitation. Standards ensure that trust, transparency, and accountability remain at the core of the ecosystem.”

Moving Forward

The New Technologies Forum underlined the urgency of advancing standardization in blockchain intelligence, and I am encouraged that this conversation will not end here.

  • On October 28th 2025, I will participate in the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies, organized by the Basel Institute on Governance, UNODC, and Europol in Vienna. One of the breakout sessions, “Breaking the silos – toward interoperable blockchain intelligence”, will directly tackle the question of interoperability and standardization, building on the momentum from INTERPOL’s Forum.
  • On February 17th, 2026, I will also join experts in Paris for BIPA’s Blockchain Intelligence Standardization Workshop, where we will move beyond discussion into concrete action steps. This workshop will aim to define the scope of standardization, identify stakeholders, and set out a governance structure for coordinated efforts. The outcome will be a roadmap for standardization in 2026, addressing data formats, APIs, and methodologies to ensure interoperability across platforms.

These gatherings represent a crucial step forward. By creating a unified approach, we can transform volume and complexity from obstacles into opportunities for precision, collaboration, and trust in financial crime prevention.