Learning Hub
Blockchain Explorers & the Travel Rule
Two skills: reading a public blockchain, and knowing the rule that attaches identity to a transfer. Both take an afternoon to learn. Everything here is free to start. There is also a short list of analysis tools that run entirely on your own machine, for case material that cannot leave it.
1 · Walk through
Read a real transaction
Five minutes, one famous transaction, field by field. The fastest way in.
Start scrolling →2 · Read
Reading the chain
How to read a transaction on a public explorer — and what the Travel Rule requires. Plain language, primary sources.
Read the walkthrough →3 · Practise
Tracing in practice
A real transaction traced step by step — then three live exercises on real cases, rotating daily, with model answers.
Start the exercises →On a live matter? Print the on-chain citation record →
Block explorers
Paste a transaction hash or address and see the permanent public record. All free, no account needed.
Etherscan
FreeThe standard Ethereum explorer. Transactions, addresses and tokens, with community labels for known exchanges and reported scams.
Blockchair
FreeOne search box for 40+ blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. No registration.
mempool.space
FreeOpen-source Bitcoin explorer. Clean, ad-free, trusted by the technical community.
Tronscan
FreeThe official TRON explorer. Use it to trace USDT (TRC-20) — the payment rail most often seen in investment fraud.
Solscan
Free tier · paid extrasThe main Solana explorer. Transactions, wallets and token flows.
Tracing & attribution tools
One step past a raw explorer: these name the entities behind addresses and draw the flow of funds as a chart.
Local & offline analysis tools
Workbenches and language models that run entirely on your own machine, for reviewing spreadsheets and documents in a live matter. Nothing you load into them leaves the device.
KNIME Analytics Platform
FreeA visual workbench for cleaning, joining and analysing spreadsheets without code. Its AI extension can prompt a language model running on the same machine.
GPT4All
FreeRuns language models privately on an ordinary desktop — no cloud, nothing leaves the machine. LocalDocs answers questions over your own PDF and text files.
AnythingLLM
FreeA document workspace over a local model: load PDFs and Word files and question them. Runs entirely on your own computer.
Jan
FreeAn open-source chat app for local models. Everything runs on the device when you want it to.
LM Studio
Free tier · paid extrasA polished desktop app for downloading and running open models on an ordinary laptop. Local sessions never leave the device; its cloud add-ons are a separate, explicit choice.
Ollama (with Open WebUI)
FreeThe standard engine for running models locally, usually paired with Open WebUI as a self-hosted interface with a documented offline mode. For the technically comfortable.
Learn to read an explorer
Reading a transaction record properly takes an afternoon to learn. Start with our walkthrough, then the official guides.
Investigation training & certification
Self-paced courses from the firms and institutions that set the standard — free tracks through to full certifications.
Chainalysis Academy
Free tier · paid extrasTraining from the leading blockchain-analytics firm. Free foundational modules; full investigator certifications come with a licence or can be bought on demand.
TRM Academy
Free tier · paid extrasCourses taught by former FBI and US Secret Service investigators. Free entry courses; paid certifications.
Basel Institute LEARN
Free tier · paid extrasFree self-paced courses from the Basel Institute on Governance, including a primer on laundering money with cryptocurrency. Paid instructor-led courses and a postgraduate CAS run alongside.
ACAMS — Cryptoasset Anti-Financial Crime Specialist (CCAS)
PaidThe exam-based professional certification for cryptoasset financial crime. Reckon on an exam fee around US$895, plus ACAMS membership.
The Travel Rule — training
The Travel Rule makes identity data travel with a crypto transfer. One dedicated place to learn it.
The Travel Rule — the law itself
The binding texts and the data standard. Cite these, not summaries of them.
FATF — Guidance on Virtual Assets and VASPs (2021)
Official sourceThe global guidance national travel-rule regimes follow (Recommendation 16, updated October 2021).
Regulation (EU) 2023/1113
Official sourceThe EU's travel-rule law. Identity data must accompany transfers of funds and crypto-assets — applicable since 30 December 2024.
FINMA Guidance 02/2019
Official sourceThe Swiss position: the travel rule applies to blockchain payments, with no exemption for unhosted wallets.
FCA — Travel Rule expectations
Official sourceWhat the FCA expects of UK crypto firms under the travel rule, in force since 1 September 2023.
IVMS101 (interVASP)
Official sourceThe standard data format VASPs use to exchange originator and beneficiary information.
Looking for the wider directories?