The six kinds of crypto AML service
Vendors bundle these differently and name them differently. What each one actually does:
Wallet screening
Scores one address before you deal with it: who it belongs to, and whether it has received money from sanctioned, hacked, scam or darknet sources — directly or a few hops away.
Who needs it: Anyone about to accept or send crypto: exchanges, OTC desks, wallets, merchants.
Transaction monitoring (KYT)
Know Your Transaction: screens every deposit and withdrawal automatically, usually via API, and raises alerts by rules you set, with a record for audit.
Who needs it: Licensed VASPs and payment providers with continuous flow to watch.
Sanctions screening
Matches addresses against designations — OFAC SDN and other lists — and, for stablecoins, against issuer freezes by Tether and Circle.
Who needs it: Everyone: paying a designated address is a legal breach, not just a risk.
Investigations and forensics
Graph tools to trace funds across hops, bridges and swaps, cluster addresses into entities and build a case for a hack, a fraud or an asset recovery.
Who needs it: Compliance investigators, law enforcement, incident responders.
VASP due diligence
Risk profiles of the exchanges and services you send to or receive from: licensing, jurisdiction, KYC policy and exposure.
Who needs it: VASPs onboarding counterparties, and for Travel Rule counterparty checks.
Travel Rule
Exchanging originator and beneficiary data with the counterparty VASP for transfers above a threshold, as FATF Recommendation 16 requires.
Who needs it: Regulated VASPs in jurisdictions that enforce the rule.
Crypto AML providers compared
Which provider offers which service, how you buy it, and whether there is any free way in. ✓ — the vendor has a product page for it; partner — delivered through partners, per the vendor; ? — not stated on the vendor’s site (which does not mean it is missing); a dash — not offered. Checked 4 November 2026.
PublicAML
Address check, keyless enrich API, Telegram bot, SDKs, MCP server
Free, non-profit
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- No
- VASP DD
- No
- Travel Rule
- No
Free option: Everything: screening, sanctions and freezes, API with no key; no trial, no cap.
Chains: Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, TRON; Solana by labels only · source
Chainalysis
Address Screening, KYT, Reactor, VASP Risking
Contact sales (request a demo); no public prices
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Yes
- Travel Rule
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
Free option: None stated. The free Sanctions Oracle is deprecated (last update 18 Mar 2026).
Chains: KYT: 400+ networks; Reactor: 27+ blockchains · source
Elliptic
Lens, Investigator, Discovery
Contact sales (book a demo); no public prices
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Yes
- Travel Rule
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
Free option: 14-day free trial after verification.
Chains: Lens: 60+ blockchains · source
TRM Labs
Wallet Screening, Transaction Monitoring, TRM Forensics
Contact sales (request a demo); no public prices
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Yes
- Travel Rule
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
Free option: None stated.
Chains: Wallet Screening: 184+ blockchains; Forensics: 65+ · source
Crystal Intelligence
Crystal for Compliance, Crystal Expert, VASP Check
Contact sales; no public prices
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Yes
- Travel Rule
- Through partners
Free option: None stated; a demo is offered.
Chains: 330+ blockchains · source
AMLBot
AML/KYT screening, Tracer, investigations service
Personal: credits, $1 to $0.10 per credit (1 check = 1 credit). Business: on request
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
- Travel Rule
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
Free option: Free Business trial; number of checks not stated.
Chains: Bitcoin, Ethereum, TRON, BNB Chain, Solana, Polygon "and more" (no count stated) · source
Scorechain
Wallet Screening, KYA report, Transaction Monitoring, Exploration Tool, Travel Rule API
Public prices: address report from €29; credit bundles €149 (80) to €999 (1,000)
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Yes
- Travel Rule
- Yes
Free option: Sanctions API free for non-commercial use, 100 requests/hour.
Chains: 21+ to 25+ blockchains (figures differ between its pages) · source
Merkle Science
Compass, Tracker, KYBB
Contact sales; no public prices
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Yes
- Travel Rule
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
Free option: Tracker: 1 month free, activated after a training call.
Chains: 250+ blockchains (Tracker trial page) · source
MistTrack (SlowMist)
MistTrack Light / Toolkit, MistTrack Premium, SlowMist KYT
Public prices: Basic $229/month to Compliance $2,069/month; API from $20/year
- Screening
- Yes
- KYT
- Yes
- Forensics
- Yes
- VASP DD
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
- Travel Rule
- Not stated on the vendor’s site
Free option: Free address risk check (Light, Toolkit); 7-day trial of Basic.
Chains: 19 blockchain networks · source
Columns: Screening — Wallet / address screening · KYT — Transaction monitoring (KYT) · Forensics — Investigations / forensics tool · VASP DD — VASP / counterparty due diligence · Travel Rule — Travel Rule.
Where PublicAML fits — and where it does not
What it covers, free
- Wallet screening for Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain and TRON: a 0–100 risk score with the sources behind it.
- Sanctions screening (OFAC and other lists) and Tether / Circle freeze status.
- A KYT-style API with no key: POST to /v2/enrich before you accept or send funds.
- Web, Telegram bot, SDKs and an MCP server for AI assistants. Non-profit — no trial, no cap.
What it does not do
- No Travel Rule messaging and no VASP-to-VASP data exchange.
- No case management, alert workflow or SAR filing — it gives the signal, your team decides.
- No certification or regulatory sign-off. A risk signal is not legal compliance; keep your own KYC/AML programme.
- Solana by labels and lists only, without link analysis.
How to choose a crypto AML service
1.Start from your obligation
A licensed VASP usually needs transaction monitoring and the Travel Rule; a wallet or a dApp often only needs to screen recipients before sending.
2.Check the chains you actually touch
Coverage claims count tokens and networks differently. Ask for the chains and stablecoins your volume runs on — USDT on TRON is the usual gap.
3.Ask why a score is what it is
A number without its sources cannot be defended to a customer or a regulator. Prefer services that name the source, the category and the hop distance.
4.Price by your volume
Enterprise contracts suit large VASPs. For low volume or a pre-send check, per-check pricing or a free screening layer is usually enough.
Frequently asked questions
What are crypto AML services?
Services that help businesses avoid handling criminal or sanctioned crypto. They analyse the public blockchain to score addresses and transactions for links to sanctions, hacks, scams, darknet markets and mixers. The main kinds are wallet screening, transaction monitoring (KYT), sanctions screening, investigations, VASP due diligence and the Travel Rule.
What is the difference between wallet screening and transaction monitoring (KYT)?
Wallet screening checks one address when you ask — typically before a deal or a payout. Transaction monitoring (Know Your Transaction) runs on every deposit and withdrawal automatically, raises alerts by rules and keeps an audit trail. Licensed exchanges usually need monitoring; a wallet or an OTC desk often starts with screening.
Which companies provide crypto AML services?
The large blockchain-analytics vendors are Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM Labs and Crystal Intelligence; others include Scorechain, Merkle Science, AMLBot and MistTrack by SlowMist. Most sell enterprise contracts through sales. PublicAML is a free, non-profit option for screening and a keyless API.
Is there a free crypto AML service?
PublicAML is free with no trial and no cap: address screening, sanctions and Tether/Circle freeze status, and an API that needs no key. Among commercial vendors, as of November 2026 MistTrack offers a free basic address risk check, Scorechain a free sanctions API for non-commercial use (100 requests per hour), Elliptic a 14-day trial and Merkle Science one month of Tracker.
How much do crypto AML services cost?
Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM Labs, Crystal and Merkle Science publish no prices — pricing is by contract. Vendors with public prices, as of November 2026: MistTrack from $229 a month (API from $20 a year), Scorechain address reports from €29, AMLBot credits from $1 down to $0.10 per check. PublicAML is free.
Does using a crypto AML tool make my business compliant?
No. A tool gives risk signals; compliance is your programme — KYC, policies, monitoring, record-keeping, reporting and, where it applies, the Travel Rule. Regulators expect you to act on the signals and document why. Use any of these services as one part of that programme.
Screen an address now — free
No account, no card, no key. See the score and the sources behind it.