Blockchain analytics platform arkham has found itself in trouble after it was revealed that the company had leaked the private information of its own customers.
The issue stems from Arkham’s web link referral program, where users can invite others to the platform by sharing their unique referral URL.
While these URLs appear to be a random sequence of characters, they are actually an easily decodable version of the user’s email address written in Base64.
This means that anyone who shared your Arkham link may have inadvertently put their anonymity or at least their email address at risk.
The revelation was brought to light by m4gicpotato, a privacy advocate and a leading figure within the crypto community.
M4gicpotato, who has been working in the crypto space under various aliases since 2017, took to Twitter to share his findings, which quickly went viral.
“ALL ARKHAM REFERRAL LINKS SHARED ON TWITTER ARE DOXXIING EVERYONE BECAUSE THE EMAIL IS IN THE REFERRAL URL,” they wrote in Monday’s Twitter thread.
Another Twitter user claimed that they had notified Arkham about this issue earlier this year, but the team took no action.
“I DMed Arkham about this in January 2023, they said they were aware of the issue,” said user @MatsumotoWins.
Arkham has yet to release an official statement on the incident and how they plan to address privacy concerns raised by their customers.
Arkham Launches Decentralized Intel-to-Earn Marketplace
The reveal came shortly after Arkham. unveiled the Arkham Intel Exchangewhich he called the world’s first on-chain “intelligence marketplace.”
The platform is expected to create a new way for people to share and exchange blockchain-related intelligence, creating a new market and opportunity for on-chain researchers.
In a recent blog post, the company said that there is significant demand for on-chain analytics from various people such as traders, investors, journalists, researchers, and protocols.
He also noted that a growing community of talented on-chain investigators needs a platform that allows them to monetize their skills.
He intel exchange addresses these challenges by connecting buyers and sellers of on-chain intelligence through a rewards mechanism. The company wrote in the announcement:
“Arkham’s Intel Exchange finally gives these talented researchers a way to monetize their skills and meets the growing demand for on-chain research in a scalable way, by connecting both sides of the on-chain intelligence economy.”
The platform uses a rewards mechanism to do this. Users who need specific information on the chain can request it by placing rewards.
These rewards will then be fulfilled by “bounty hunters”, experienced blockchain researchers who provide the requested intelligence in exchange for payment.
