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Blockchain analysis by TRM Labs has led to the arrest of a Peruvian national in Brazil accused of operating dark web platforms that served more than 350,000 users.
The investigation—coordinated by authorities in the United States, Germany, and Brazil—used crypto transaction tracing to identify the alleged administrator, who had attempted to conceal financial flows through mixers and multiple wallets.
According to the TRM Labs report, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested the suspect in September, uncovering illicit material during the raid.
The platforms, now shut down, reportedly hosted over 21,000 videos—totaling about 660 hours of content—and accumulated nearly 900,000 views. Memberships on these platforms began at just $10, showing how the global child abuse network monetized exploitation at scale.
The investigation uncovered that the suspect managed the dark web platforms Videos Yad and Videos Sebick, hosted on servers in Germany. Authorities later took down these sites and replaced them with seizure notices from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, confirming the platforms’ deactivation.
Despite efforts to obscure payments through mixers, multiple wallets, and third-party intermediaries, TRM Labs’ blockchain intelligence revealed overlapping blockchain infrastructure connecting several sites.
By tracing crypto payments from users to intermediaries and eventually to Brazilian exchanges, investigators established a financial trail linking the suspect to the broader global child abuse network.
A statement from TRM Labs highlighted the significance of blockchain evidence:
“The necessity of this on-chain information to unmask the alleged administrator underscores the investigative value of TRM’s database of financial intelligence related to CSAM,” — TRM Labs report.
This digital trail became the key to dismantling an online operation that had long evaded detection.
The takedown underscores how public-private partnerships can help identify and dismantle crypto-enabled child exploitation networks. Ari Redbord, Vice President and Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, emphasized the importance of financial intelligence in protecting children from online abuse.
“This case demonstrates how blockchain intelligence can play a decisive role in protecting the most vulnerable,” Ari Redbord, TRM Labs.
“By following the money, investigators were able to connect fragmented digital identities, expose a transnational criminal network, and bring a long-running operation to an end.”
In June, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to receive real-time alerts on crypto transactions linked to child abuse material. The IWF’s 2024 report identified cryptocurrency as the most common payment method on such platforms—appearing in over 60% of URLs that offered payment options.
Redbord added that cross-border collaboration remains essential:
“Public-private collaboration remains vital in combating online child exploitation. These cases cross borders, platforms, and currencies—and it’s only through partnerships like this one that we can deliver meaningful impact,” — Ari Redbord, TRM Labs.
These coordinated efforts show growing recognition of the role blockchain tracing plays in identifying participants in the global child abuse network and disrupting its revenue streams.
The Brazilian arrest forms part of a broader international crackdown on crypto-related crimes linked to child exploitation and cyberattacks. Regulatory agencies are increasingly holding crypto intermediaries responsible for failing to report illicit activity.
In October, Canada’s FINTRAC imposed a record $126 million fine on Cryptomus, a crypto payment platform, for failing to report thousands of suspicious transactions connected to child exploitation, ransomware, and sanctions evasion.
Similarly, Europol recently announced the seizure of $330,000 in crypto assets and the arrest of seven individuals associated with a Latvian cybercrime network that distributed child abuse material using 1,200 SIM box devices.
These actions collectively signal a tightening global response to crypto-enabled crimes, especially those tied to the global child abuse network, as authorities work to ensure digital anonymity no longer guarantees impunity.
The global child abuse network takedown demonstrates how crypto tracing and international cooperation can transform blockchain from a tool of concealment into one of accountability.
As law enforcement and blockchain firms strengthen alliances, the digital shadows once exploited by abusers are steadily being illuminated—transaction by transaction.
