Illustrative work sample / Blockchain intelligence
Cross-venue surveillance review.
A worked example of how a transaction record becomes a decision file.
Every market, wallet, trade and timestamp below is synthetic. This is a method demonstration, not client work or an allegation about any person or venue.
The decision
Open a narrow data-preservation and attribution inquiry into pre-announcement concentration on Venue B. Do not infer insider trading, a common trader across venues, or a surveillance failure from the supplied records.
First, match the contracts
In this fictional example, A1 and B1 both pay $1 if Authority R announces a port closure by 14:00 UTC on a fictional day. B2 instead settles on whether the port is physically closed at that time. B2 is excluded from matched-price analysis: similar titles do not make the exposures equivalent.
Then reconstruct the sequence
These are selected synthetic buys of YES shares, not a complete market tape. All times are UTC on the same fictional day. A dash means identity was not supplied.
| Time | Venue | Buyer | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:40:00 | A | — | 200 | $0.40 |
| 13:40:00 | B | W1 | 150 | $0.42 |
| 13:50:00 | A | — | 100 | $0.41 |
| 13:50:00 | B | W2 | 100 | $0.43 |
| 13:55:00 | B | W1 | 100 | $0.45 |
| 13:58:00 | B | W1 | 1,800 | $0.46 |
| 13:59:00 | B | W2 | 200 | $0.52 |
| 14:00:00 | Public announcement released | |||
| 14:00:05 | A | — | 1,000 | $0.82 |
| 14:00:08 | B | W1 | 600 | $0.84 |
In the five minutes before the announcement, the supplied B buys total 2,100 shares. W1 bought 1,900, or 90.48%, at a cost of $873 before fees. Those are shares of the supplied observations—not market-wide concentration or profit.
Separate findings from explanations
- Observed: one wallet accounts for most supplied buys immediately before the announcement.
- Alternatives: ordinary speculation, public rumour, routine inventory management or an incomplete extract.
- Not established: trader identity, foreknowledge, manipulation or a failure by the existing surveillance team.
- Next evidence: complete trades and orders, validated clocks, prior wallet activity, the public-news chronology and authorized account records.
The later price increases follow public news. They do not establish a cross-venue scheme. A public wallet label alone does not establish who controls an account.
Deliver a usable endpoint
The reviewer receives a contract-comparison sheet, evidence register, event chronology, findings with alternative explanations, and an action list with named owners. If complete records support an ordinary explanation, close or downgrade the concern. If records remain missing, state the limit.
Scope a review
A pilot can focus on one event, two comparable contracts and a defined observation window. Scope, data access, deliverables, timing and fees are agreed before work begins.
Discuss a mandate