Chainetix Inc. ("Chainetix", "we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard personal information you provide through chainetix.io (the "Site") and in the course of our work as a cryptocurrency forensic investigations firm. We handle personal information in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable privacy laws where we operate.
By using the Site, submitting an inquiry through our contact form, engaging us to perform investigative work, or otherwise providing personal information to us, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of that information as described in this Policy.
1. Scope and our role
This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected on the Site, through our contact form, in the course of providing investigative services, and in any communications between you and Chainetix. Chainetix determines the purposes and means of processing your personal information and acts as the data controller of that information.
The Site may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information to them.
2. Personal information we collect
We collect personal information from clients and prospective clients who contact us about cryptocurrency-related incidents — typically online scams, fraud, theft, or other unauthorized movement of digital assets — as well as from lawyers, law enforcement, exchanges, and other professionals engaging us in connection with such matters.
Information you provide directly. When you contact us, submit our contact form, or engage us to perform investigative work, you may provide:
- Contact details, such as your name, email address, country, and (optionally) phone number
- The capacity in which you are contacting us (for example: individual victim, legal counsel, law enforcement, exchange or financial institution)
- Incident details, including the approximate value of assets lost, blockchain addresses associated with the matter, transaction hashes, and a narrative description of what occurred
- Supporting evidence and documentation you choose to share with us during an inquiry or active engagement
- The content of email, chat, or other communications between you and Chainetix
Information collected automatically. When you visit the Site, our infrastructure providers may automatically collect technical information necessary to operate and secure the Site, including:
- Log data, such as IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring page, and date and time of access
- Device data, such as device type and screen size
- Information about your interaction with the Site, such as pages viewed and links clicked
Information collected automatically is generally not linked to personally identifying information, except where necessary to investigate security incidents, fraud, or abuse of the Site.
Information from other sources. In the course of investigative work, we collect and analyze personal information from sources other than you, including:
- Public blockchain data, which is inherently public by design
- Public records, court filings, regulatory disclosures, and other openly available information
- Open-source intelligence (OSINT) and information from commercial data providers we engage to support investigations
- Information provided by clients about third parties relevant to a case
We may combine information from different sources for the purposes described in this Policy. We are not responsible for the accuracy of information provided to us by third parties.
3. How we use your information
The personal information we collect is essential to the services we provide. We use it for the following purposes:
- Inquiry review. To evaluate inquiries submitted through the contact form and determine whether we can provide meaningful value to the prospective client.
- Forensic analysis. To analyze cryptocurrency loss incidents, identify the movement and disposition of stolen or illicitly obtained assets, and develop attribution and intelligence relevant to a case.
- Service delivery. To conduct investigative work for clients who engage us under a written agreement, including tracing of assets, attribution analysis, and the preparation of investigative reports and other deliverables.
- Communication. To respond to you, request additional information, decline an engagement, send transactional messages (such as confirmation of receipt), and communicate with you during an active engagement.
- Case management and recordkeeping. To maintain internal records of inquiries, engagements, and communications.
- Legal and regulatory compliance. To comply with applicable laws, court orders, subpoenas, and other valid legal process, and to meet professional obligations.
- Security and fraud prevention. To protect the Site, our systems, and our work product from unauthorized access, abuse, fraud, or disruption.
- Service improvement. To understand how the Site is used and to improve our services, including through aggregated and anonymized analysis that does not identify any individual.
- Protection of rights. To establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, and to protect the rights, property, or safety of Chainetix, our clients, or the public.
4. How we share your information
We do not share personal information that identifies you with third parties without your consent, except as required by law or as described below. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for advertising purposes.
We may share personal information with the following categories of recipients:
- Service providers and vendors. Third-party providers that perform business functions on our behalf may have access to personal information to the extent necessary to perform their services. These include providers of hosting and infrastructure, transactional email delivery, productivity and communication tools, secure file storage, and similar operational services. We share only the personal information necessary for the provider to perform its function, and we require providers to handle that information securely and consistent with this Policy.
- Clients. Where you provide information in the course of an investigation we conduct for a client (for example, information that becomes part of an investigative report), we may share that information with the client engaging us, subject to the terms of our engagement.
- Professional advisors. We may disclose personal information to our lawyers, accountants, auditors, and other professional advisors when necessary to obtain advice or to manage our business.
- Legal and regulatory authorities. We may share personal information with law enforcement, courts, regulators, and other governmental authorities when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by applicable law, court order, or other valid legal process, or where necessary to investigate or prevent illegal activity or threats to safety.
- Business transactions. In the event of a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of all or part of our assets, insolvency, or similar corporate event, personal information may be transferred to the entities involved in the transaction. We will require any successor to honour the commitments made in this Policy.
- With your consent. We may share personal information with other third parties when you have directed us to do so or have otherwise provided your consent.
5. International data transfers
Chainetix is based in Canada, but some of the service providers we use to operate the Site and deliver our services may store or process information in jurisdictions outside Canada, including the United States. Personal information processed in another jurisdiction may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction, including lawful requests for access by governmental authorities.
When personal information is transferred outside Canada, we use providers that we believe maintain reasonable safeguards, and where required by applicable law, we put in place appropriate contractual protections.
6. Cookies and similar technologies
We use only the cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for the Site to function, to remember your preferences, and to keep the Site secure. We do not use advertising cookies, cross-site tracking pixels, or third-party behavioural advertising technologies.
If we add analytics in the future, we will use privacy-preserving analytics that do not track individual users across sites. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling certain cookies may affect the operation of the Site.
7. How long we keep your information
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with our legal, professional, and recordkeeping obligations, and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
- Inquiries that do not result in an engagement are typically retained for up to 24 months from the date of last contact, in case you re-contact us about the same matter.
- Information collected during an active engagement is retained for the duration of the engagement and for a reasonable period afterward to meet legal, professional, and recordkeeping obligations.
- Server logs and security-related data are retained for the shorter period appropriate for operational and security purposes.
When we no longer have a legitimate need to process your information, we will delete or anonymize it.
8. Data security
We implement reasonable physical, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include encrypted transmission of data (TLS), access controls on internal systems, and operational practices appropriate to the sensitivity of investigative work.
No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we treat case information with the discretion that the nature of our work demands. If we become aware of a security incident affecting personal information, we will respond in accordance with our incident response procedures and applicable law, including notifying affected individuals where required.
9. Your privacy rights
Subject to applicable law, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information:
- Access. You can ask us to confirm whether we hold personal information about you and to provide a copy of that information.
- Correction. You can ask us to correct personal information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Deletion. You can ask us to delete your personal information, subject to legal, professional, or recordkeeping obligations that may require us to retain certain information.
- Withdrawal of consent. Where we process personal information on the basis of your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
- Objection. You can object to certain types of processing, including processing for direct marketing (which we do not currently engage in).
- Restriction. You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Portability. Where applicable, you can request a copy of personal information you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
- Complaint. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the relevant supervisory authority in your jurisdiction if you believe we have not handled your personal information appropriately.
To exercise any of these rights, email team@chainetix.io. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request, and some rights are subject to limitations under applicable law.
10. Children
The Site and our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you become aware that a minor has provided personal information to us, please contact us so we can take steps to delete it.
11. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we provide. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Where required by law, we will provide additional notice of material changes. Your continued use of the Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
12. Contact us
If you have questions about this Policy, or you wish to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact us at:
team@chainetix.io
Chainetix Inc.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada