Lords of Crypto Crime

'Reads like a thriller... These stories are amazing.'

-Michael Lewis, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Big Short

'A master-class in the tactics and countertactics of financial cyberwarfare, laid out in a tense, exciting technothriller.'

-Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother

'An absorbing narrative than unfolds like a mystery'

-New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

'Immensely readable... a romp through some of the most infamous dark web takedowns in recent memory.'

-Washington Post

Dirty cops, trafficking rings, globe-spanning, nail-biting undercover detective work and the biggest takedown of the online narcotics market in the history of the internet. This is the story of how a single innovation has fuelled the world's criminal financial markets, and unleashed a cat-and mouse game like no other.

Over the last decade, crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely - whether in drug dealing, money laundering, or human trafficking - than their old school counterparts could have ever dreamed of. By transacting in currencies with anonymous ledgers, overseen by no government and beholden no bankers, they have robbed law enforcement of the primary method of cracking down on illicit finance: following the money.

But what if this dark economy held a secret, fatal flaw? What if their currency wasn't so cryptic after all? Could an investigator using the right mixture of technical wizardry, financial forensics, and old-fashioned persistence uncover an entire criminal underworld?

Lords of Crypto Crime is the gripping, insider story of how a brilliant group of investigators took down the biggest kingpins of the dark web.

Published in the US as Tracers in the Dark.

[Greenberg] deftly assembles a rogues' gallery of characters... [An] absorbing narrative... Each key section of the book-the Silk Road story; the dismantling of its successor, AlphaBay; the massive theft of Bitcoin from the Mt. Gox exchange; and, finally, the bust of the Welcome to Video child porn emporium-unfolds like a compact mystery. New York Times Book Review
Immensely readable... Greenberg is known for his ability to explain complicated technology in a way anyone can understand, and he doesn't disappoint when he tackles crypto.... The whole smoky world of crypto starts to open up... [He] takes readers on a romp through some of the most infamous dark web takedowns in recent memory. Washington Post
Greenberg sketches the evolution of a wholly new discipline in the surprisingly lively real-life police procedural [that] deftly teases out technical detail without slowing the narrative. Associated Press
A pivotal story of the internet, the dark web and policing in the Digital Age. The book demonstrates in gripping, and sometimes thrilling detail, how law enforcement agencies such as the IRS Criminal Investigations unit have harnessed powerful emerging technology to trace cryptocurrency, which once seemed anonymous, right to the doorsteps of some of the world's most wanted criminals... Tracers in The Dark raises essential questions about the future of cryptocurrency. CyberScoop

Andy Greenberg is a senior writer for Wired magazine. He's written about hackers, cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy for more than fifteen years, and is the author of three books: Tracers in the Dark, Sandworm, and This Machine Kills Secrets. Tracers in the Dark and Sandworm, along with excerpts of the books published in Wired, have won several honors including two Gerald Loeb awards for distinguished business and financial reporting. This Machine Kills Secrets was named by The Verge as one of the top ten greatest tech books of all time. Greenberg lives in Brooklyn with his wife, documentary filmmaker Malika Zouhali-Worrall.

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