FCIBT study guide
FCIBT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The FCIBT credential - Financial Crime Investigation and Blockchain Tracing - is aimed at people who need to follow money that moves through public blockchains and turn those findings into something usable in an investigation, a compliance file, or a court filing. Candidates typically come from financial intelligence units, law enforcement and prosecution offices, bank and VASP compliance teams, forensic accounting practices, and consultancies that support insolvency or fraud litigation. The FCIBT study guide has 8 sections and about 2,418 words.
01Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Fundamentals
This domain tests how well you understand the data structures you will later trace: the two ledger models, how addresses derive from keys, how transactions encode value and fees, and what consensus finality means for evidential certainty. UTXO (Bitcoin) : coins are unspent outputs; a transaction consumes whole outputs and creates new ones.
329 words, about 2 min02Cryptoasset Typologies and Illicit Finance Risks
This domain tests whether you can classify illicit activity and explain the laundering path, not just name a scam. Expect questions on fraud, ransomware, darknet markets, sanctions evasion, and the layering techniques that move proceeds across assets and chains.
332 words, about 2 min03On-Chain Analytics and Transaction Tracing
This domain tests method: building a defensible transaction graph, applying heuristics transparently, and separating observation from inference. Freeze the scope: victim address, asset, time window, and the question you are answering.
307 words, about 2 min04Attribution, Clustering, and Wallet Identification
This domain tests how you move from addresses to entities and how you express confidence. Attribution is an evidence claim; clustering is a heuristic that proposes candidate links.
307 words, about 2 min05Cross-Chain, Mixers, and Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
This domain tests how value moves between chains and how privacy tools change traceability. You need to explain what each tool hides and what metadata remains.
312 words, about 2 min06Fiat On/Off-Ramps, Exchanges, and VASP Due Diligence
This domain tests how you evaluate the firms that convert fiat to crypto and back, and how you decide whether their records will support an investigation. Centralised exchanges (CEXs) : custodial, KYC-based, hold order books and withdrawal records.
278 words, about 1 min07AML/CFT Frameworks, Sanctions, and Travel Rule Compliance
This domain tests the rules that bind VASPs and the investigative consequences when they fail. FATF Recommendation 15 requires VASPs to be licensed or registered and supervised for AML/CFT.
302 words, about 2 min08Evidence Handling, Reporting, and Case Documentation
This domain tests whether your work survives scrutiny: preservation, reproducibility, and clear reporting. Capture raw data where possible: transaction hex, block headers, contract traces, and full node responses, not only screenshots.
251 words, about 1 min