Key takeaways:
- Uniswap has blacklisted 253 crypto addresses related to theft or sanctions.
- TRM Labs collects a user’s address and offers it an overall risk parameter when they engage with the exchange website.
Uniswap, a decentralized exchange, has blacklisted 253 crypto addresses after four months of collaboration with blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.
It was the very first-time Uniswap had made wallet blacklisting data public.
Most addresses were blocked due to links to stolen money or organizations that mix transactions, such as Tornado Cash, which the US Treasury recently blacklisted.
The data was saved by Yearn Finance core developer Banteg in a Twitter thread and on GitHub, claiming Uniswap software engineer Jordan Frankfurt as the source.
Many of the blacklisted addresses on Uniswap do not have a history of criminal activity. This is because these domains were not assigned to an individual or organization. They were typically used as a backup burn address. As a result, some feel blacklisting it on Uniswap is absurd.
It is also stated that 30 of the 253 blacklisted addresses, or around 12%, have a connected ens name. Most are probably genuine users who have become TRM’s blowback.
According to a GitHub chart, TRM Labs checks for seven forms of unlawful behavior while examining addresses.
The four main types that are frequently detected include stolen funds, funds from a transaction mixer, sanctioned addresses, and monies from a known fraud.
The final three categories are money used to fund terrorism, payments from known hacking groups, and documents regarding child sexual assault.
Uniswap comprises three main components: code running on the blockchain that anybody can engage with, a front-end website that allows users to connect with the code in one way, and a US-based company that develops the protocol and administers the front-end website.
In April, Uniswap and TRM Labs formed a partnership. TRM Labs obtains a user’s address and labels it a risk level when they engage with the Uniswap website. Uniswap is responsible for deciding how much risk it is prepared to tolerate.
