Tainted bitcoin is BTC whose transaction history traces back to a theft, a ransomware payment, a darknet marketplace or a sanctioned address. Bitcoin has no issuer that can freeze coins, so taint surfaces as a reviewed or refused deposit at the venue receiving it rather than as a blocked transfer on-chain. Because every output carries its own history, taint belongs to specific coins rather than to a wallet.
Bitcoin's ledger is complete, public and permanent. The exchange screening your deposit sees the same path you could have seen before accepting it, and it sees the path the day the deposit arrives — not the day you agreed the deal.
Bitcoin moves as discrete outputs. A wallet spending a payment often combines outputs from several past receipts into one transaction, which is why a single tainted output can put an entire deposit into review. That mechanic is also why "my wallet is clean" is not a claim anyone can make about a wallet as a whole; the coins have histories, and the wallet is just where they sit.
Nothing freezes on-chain, because there is no issuer with an off switch. What happens instead is at the venue. Kraken publishes that accounts are restricted for security and regulatory compliance reasons, including suspicious activity and incomplete verification, and that the way out runs through their support process and additional verification (Kraken support). The coin stays yours; access to it does not.
The result names what the funds are connected to — darknet market, ransomware, stolen funds, sanctions, mixer, CoinJoin, high-risk exchange — and whether the connection is direct or through intermediaries. Where the counterparty belongs to an identified service, the result names it.
In the Telegram bot that is one message, in seconds, free, three checks a day. In the workspace it is a case with an owner, a filter on your review queue, and a signed report a counterparty or an auditor can read without taking your word for anything.
Not on-chain — bitcoin has no issuer with freeze authority. The custodian holding it can restrict the account, which Kraken describes as a compliance and security measure resolved through verification and support ([Kraken support](https://support.kraken.com/articles/why-is-my-account-restricted)).
No. The participation is itself visible on-chain and is a named category in screening results, and many venues treat it as a reason to review a deposit. It changes what a casual observer sees, not what a reviewer concludes.
Policies differ. The common outcome is a review with a request for information rather than an outright refusal, which is why having the origin documented before you deposit shortens the process.
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The ledger keeps everything, but the practical question a reviewer asks is narrower: did the funds come to you straight from a flagged party, or through a long chain of unrelated ones? A result states that distinction, and a direct connection is what triggers the hard conversations.
Send any wallet to the Telegram bot and get a verdict in seconds. Three checks a day, free, no signup. Desks that screen every deposit run it on plans from $199/mo.