Cryptoasset Analytics & Blockchain Forensics

Portrait of Bernhard Haslhofer, research group leader at Complexity Science Hub Vienna.

Short bio: EN | DE

I lead the Digital Currency Ecosystems research group at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna. My research develops computational methods for cryptoasset analytics and decentralized finance, digital crime and forensics, and large-scale disinformation.

I co-founded Iknaio Cryptoasset Analytics and serve as a court-certified expert in IT and cryptoasset forensics. I also teach courses on these topics at TU Wien.

Research Interests

Cryptoasset Analytics & DeFi: Quantitative methods for measuring cryptoasset ecosystems and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols at scale, from tracing fund flows across ledgers to analyzing investment strategies, risks, and structural dependencies.

Digital Crime & Forensics: Algorithms and open tools for tracing illicit fund flows and analyzing dark web ecosystems, producing forensic evidence that supports criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Large-Scale Disinformation: Network-analytic methods for understanding how disinformation spreads through online ecosystems and how coordinated campaigns can be detected at scale.

Browse all publications →

Impact

Societal: our research methods supported the international law enforcement operation that took down over 373,000 illegal dark web sites.

Industry: the Iknaio spin-off and the open-source GraphSense platform.

Policy: evidence for central banks (BIS) and engagement in European policy debate.

Standards: Open Blockchain Intelligence Standards (OBIS), ResourceSync (NISO), Open Annotation (W3C), and Europeana Linked Open Data.

Recent News

Oct 2026

The call for papers for CAAW 2027 is open. Submission deadline: November 20, 2026.

Oct 2026

I spoke on crypto forensics at the IT-Strafrechtstag 2026 in Bayreuth.

Sep 2026

I presented our work on Bitcoin address clustering in law enforcement at the INTERPOL New Technologies Forum in Vienna.

Sep 2026

I presented our work on stablecoins under stress in a national economy at the ESMA Research Conference 2026 in Paris.

Sep 2026

With Thomas Goger, I presented Operation Alice at the 10th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets in Luxembourg.

Sep 2026

We are hosting this year's INTERPOL New Technologies Forum (NTF) at the Complexity Science Hub on September 29-30.

Sep 2026

I spoke on more efficient crypto investigations at IECTIC 2026 in Kassel.

Aug 2026

We are organizing a breakout session on advancing interoperable blockchain intelligence at the 10th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets in Luxembourg on September 15.

Jul 2026

New pre-print: Stablecoins under Stress in a National Economy: Transaction-Level Evidence from Austrian Crypto-Asset Service Providers

Jul 2026

New pre-print: How Reliable Is the Multi-Input Heuristic for Bitcoin Address Clustering in Law Enforcement Contexts?

Jun 2026

New pre-print: Tracing Stablecoin Contagion during the USDC Depeg after the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

Jun 2026

We are hosting the upcoming 15th Illicit Networks Workshop at the Complexity Science Hub on June 29-30.

May 2026

I gave an invited talk on the privatization of money at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin.

May 2026

New pre-print: DeFi Yield Aggregators: Analysing Investment Strategies and Structural Dependencies