Review of Blockchain-based Coin Mixing Regulatory Technology
摘要
The rapid development of blockchain technology and the rise of cryptocurrencies not only challenge traditional financial and asset management concepts but also introduce significant privacy and security concerns. Coin mixing, a primary privacy protection mechanism in blockchains, is designed to enhance transaction anonymity and protect user identities. However, this enhanced anonymity also enables the misuse of cryptocurrencies for illicit activities such as money laundering, theft, and fraud. Therefore, a comprehensive review of technologies for the identification, detection, and regulation of coin mixing services is urgently required to support law enforcement and promote the secure and compliant use of cryptocurrencies. This paper first reviews the technical principles and mechanisms of coin mixing services and proposes a general classification framework for mixing tools while discussing the criminal activities associated with them. Subsequently, it focuses on recent advances in five key regulatory approaches: manual rule-based methods, address clustering, entity classification, anomalous transaction detection, and mixing service traceability. It also surveys existing industrial tools and platforms related to coin mixing regulations. Finally, it identifies current challenges in the field and suggests directions for future research.