Bitzlato plays a critical role in facilitating transactions for the Conti ransomware group and other global ransomware actors, including those operating from Russia. As a result, FinCEN assesses that Bitzlato acts as a VASP that ultimately enables the profitability of ransomware attacks and, at least in Conti’s case, furthers the political and economic destabilization interests of the Russian government.

Comparative analysis of Bitzlato against a major US-registered CVC exchanger indicates that less than 0.01 percent of the US exchanger’s transactions were attributed to darknet markets, while 6 to 8 percent of Bitzlato’s transactions alone were attributed to the Hydra darknet market.