Chainalysis-Led Operation Lighthouse Flags 7,700 Crypto Accounts in Child Exploitation Sting

A Chainalysis-led global enforcement operation has flagged more than 7,700 crypto accounts linked to child sexual abuse material. The sweep generated 14,300 investigative leads across 11 exchanges and payment services. Cointelegraph reported the figure from a Tuesday press release shared with the outlet.

The operation traced 29,120 crypto addresses and digital identifiers tied to over 100 CSAM platforms, forums and distribution networks spanning the surface and dark web. Suspects turned up in 125 countries. Among them: 16 registered sex offenders. The net also caught military personnel, law enforcement officers, medical professionals and educators, including people with direct access to children, according to Tom McLouth, senior intelligence analyst at Chainalysis.

“Behind every lead is a real child at risk,” McLouth told Cointelegraph.

The National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance in New York hosted the multi-day sprint, which followed months of data enrichment. Participants worked alongside Europol, the UK National Crime Agency, Binance, Coinbase, Block and the Internet Watch Foundation, along with specialized nonprofits. The group used onchain intelligence to develop leads for follow-on legal processes and case development.

Joint action was required, Europol said, because perpetrators exploit financial services, payment systems and internet platforms. The agency offered no further detail on its own caseload.

Chainalysis said it expects the results to produce arrests, prosecutions and account-level disruption. For now, the leads are investigative. The sprint has not yet yielded confirmed arrests tied to the operation itself.

The effort follows the company’s 2025 identification of a large CSAM website using crypto payments. In 2019, the U.S. Justice Department announced the takedown of Welcome to Video, described at the time as the largest darknet child exploitation market by content volume. Authorities traced Bitcoin payments to locate the site’s server in South Korea and identify its administrator. The case led to 337 users being arrested and charged, the rescue of at least 23 victims and the seizure of roughly eight terabytes of material.

Chainalysis said its software was used to analyze the transactions and map the site’s users and contributors.

Binance, one of the cooperating exchanges, announced a partnership in July with the nonprofit Stop The Traffik. The organization would provide intelligence, training and insights intended to improve detection and investigation of crypto activity tied to human trafficking and child exploitation, Binance said.

The article did not name which of the 11 participating exchanges and payment services beyond Binance, Coinbase and Block were involved. The total dollar volume of crypto traced through the flagged accounts was not disclosed.