ACAMS redesigns crypto crime certification, adding Chainalysis content to updated blockchain course

Put the two Chainalysis figures side by side and scams are a minority of the problem, or rather a minority of the part the firm can see. Identified illicit addresses received at least $154 billion in 2025 ^[5], against $17 billion of scam and fraud losses ^[1]. That puts victim fraud at roughly 11% of Chainalysis's minimum estimate of illicit receipts ^[12]. One caveat: the first figure is a loss estimate and the second counts money received. The rest falls into categories ACAMS lists in its own threat description: international laundering networks and state-sponsored sanctions evasion ^[6].

The course is aimed at that wider job. ACAMS said the work of AML, sanctions and fraud staff increasingly includes following illicit funds and assessing exposure to criminal transactions ^[10]. Jonathan Levin, Chainalysis's co-founder and chief executive, said criminals use AI to move money between blockchains within seconds ^[11]. "The advantage the transparency of blockchains provides only matters if practitioners have the data, skills and tools to use it," Levin said ^[9]. Of those three, a certification sells the skills. It delivers them through blockchain investigation case studies, practice-focused online learning and a 300-question practice exam ^[8].

There are three plausible outcomes. In one, employers treat CCAS as the crypto credential examiners expect to see, and a seat becomes a routine line in the training budget. In another, the Chainalysis content teaches analysts one vendor's way of reading the chain, and the training spend becomes the first step toward buying data and software. In the third, demand outside ACAMS's own conference audience turns out weaker than the 79% figure suggests ^[2].

I'd put the most weight on the second, with a limit. Only the updated blockchain course is described as carrying Chainalysis content ^[7]. The three new courses cover regulation, compliance programs and investigative case studies ^[3]. Pre-sale is open ahead of the Nov. 19 launch ^[4], but crypto.news's account of it does not include a price.

The view is wrong if the case-study exercises use no vendor data, or if teams that certify staff do not go on to buy new analytics licenses.