Policeman of the Future: How Kirill Khomyakov Sees a New Era of Crime Fight in Cryptospace
The world of digital finance has long gone beyond traditional regulation, so the modern reality requires new approaches from the security system. In cryptospace, crimes occur in a matter of minutes, simultaneously in different countries, without physical traces and clear jurisdictions. In this dynamic reality, the need for a new type of specialists comes to the fore – investigators who are not just oriented in technologies, but are able to act at the intersection of law, analytics, global networks and private platforms. The regional head of Binance in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa and Ukraine, Kyrylo Khomyakov, reflects on what the police should become, capable of resisting crimes in the Web3 environment.
Kirilo Khom’yakov believes, that cybercrime has long ceased to be the domain of dark basements with hackers. It is a multibillion-dollar industry that operates at the intersection of technology, psychology, and geopolitics. While states are still forming the legislative basis for new forms of regulation, criminals are already operating in the Web3 environment. Here, funds move across dozens of blockchains, each transaction has a digital footprint, but rarely a name.
The expert emphasizes that combating Web3 crimes without adequate technical expertise, efficiency and coordination at the global level is doomed to failure. That is why Binance has been investing in the training of a new generation of law enforcement officers capable of working in the digital environment — crypto cops — for several years in a row. They are trained to investigate crimes in a space where jurisdictions did not even exist before.
Khomyakov notes that the traditional law enforcement system was developed for the real, physical world and is based on local witnesses, physical physical evidence, and procedural justice. However, crimes in Web3 are based on a different principle: they are decentralized, often automated, carried out under pseudonyms and can last only a few minutes. For example, one attacker can hack a smart contract in Singapore in ten minutes, exchange assets through a decentralized exchange on the Polygon network, launder them through the Tornado Cash mixer, and withdraw them to stablecoins through Telegram.
The expert emphasizes that criminals are well aware of technical and legal gaps between state systems, which they use to avoid responsibility. Trying to pursue them through standard legal channels is like trying to overtake an electric car with a horse-drawn carriage. Therefore, coordination of actions between state institutions and platforms of the digital economy is a critical challenge for the entire law enforcement sphere.
According to Khomyakov, a new type of investigator who is able to act effectively in the Web3 environment is not just an official with access to analytical software. He is a specialist who deeply understands the essence of blockchain, thinks globally, has flexible thinking and is able to adapt faster than the technology itself changes. Effective crypto cops often use cryptocurrency themselves, have practical experience, understand the logic of the Web3 environment, are not afraid to experiment, and work at the intersection of jurisdictions — together with prosecutors, analysts, and platforms.
Khomyakov believes that the effectiveness of such teams is impossible without multi-level interaction between state structures and private companies. In today’s environment, it is private companies that become not only technology partners, but also sources of data, tools and operational analytics. It was because of such cooperation that the international special operation RapTor became possible, which ended in the summer of 2024 with the elimination of the darknet platform Incognito Market.
He reminds that law enforcement agencies of the USA and Taiwan, together with technical partners, were able to neutralize one of the largest sites for drug trafficking. Over 100 million dollars worth of prohibited goods were sold on the Incognito Market platform in 4 years. However, the decisive factor in this operation was not the seizure of the servers, but the digital footprint of the cryptocurrency. Binance’s analytical team (FIU) helped identify the platform’s financial structure, trace cryptocurrency transactions, link wallets to real individuals, and freeze more than $3.5 million in linked addresses.
According to the expert, Incognito Market became a landmark case not only because of its scale, but also because of its complexity. The platform operated from 2020 to 2024, offering more than a thousand varieties of illicit substances — from heroin to fentanyl. All payments were made exclusively in cryptocurrency, and anonymity was ensured by mixers, darknet tools and pseudonymous wallets.
Khomyakov notes that the weak point of the site became its strength: its own payment system, system of ratings, logistics and user support created a too clear digital footprint, which made it possible to reach the entire network. Thanks to this, on May 22, 2025, the US Department of Justice was able to officially announce 270 arrests, seizure of assets, conviction of the organizers and coordination between law enforcement officers from ten countries.
Kyrylo Khomyakov believes that digital crime does not wait for the system to react to it. Without ongoing learning, partnerships, and a determination to act together, society will lose confidence in the very idea of digital security. To have a police force capable of working in Web3 realities requires global education programs for investigators and prosecutors, openness of platforms for cooperation with states, and common standards for incident response. We cannot stand aside in this fight – either we build a system capable of resisting new crime, or we allow it to become the norm.
