Following the Money is a Q&A series that spotlights how Chainalysis customers use our products in the real world — from compliance teams and investigators to pioneers driving crypto adoption.
Sophie is the Group Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Zodia Custody.
What do you think is the hottest thing in crypto right now?
Right now, the most exciting development in crypto for me is the rapid innovation happening in financial crime identification and prevention. The industry is evolving at pace, and we’re not just keeping up with TradFi. I genuinely think we’re getting ahead.
Blockchain analytics is a standout example. It gives us real-time visibility into risk exposure — something we can only dream of in traditional finance. Instead of reacting after the fact, we’re now able to proactively manage financial crime risk as it unfolds. I’m also seeing some impressive tools emerging in the DeFi space. These innovations are paving the way for regulated firms to support client engagement with DeFi in a secure and compliant manner. That’s a major step toward mainstream adoption.
Ultimately, stronger compliance tools are doing more than just keeping bad actors out; they’re laying the foundation for safe, scalable growth across the crypto ecosystem. This is a transformative moment for the industry, and the pace of innovation is genuinely encouraging. I’m optimistic about where things are heading, and excited to see what breakthroughs come next in the financial crime prevention space.
What’s the biggest misconception about your job?
Probably two things.
One: A pretty (unfortunately) common one is that we’re here to slow things down — that we exist to add layers of process or say “no” to anything that looks remotely complex or unconventional, especially when it comes to more ‘exotic’ clients.
Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth. My role, and that of my team, is only to enable the business — full stop. We’re here to make sure opportunities can be pursued in a way that’s sustainable, responsible, and aligned with what our regulators, auditors, and clients expect. It’s about building robust products and frameworks that allow the business to grow with confidence.
Ultimately, if we don’t do that well, we risk losing our licences, and without those, we wouldn’t be able to take on any business at all, and not to mention we would lose our clients’ confidence. So yes, we care strongly about effective processes and controls, but we also work hard to make sure they’re as streamlined and frictionless as possible.
Two: That I have to know everything that’s happening in the business, and be everywhere all the time: absolutely not — this is not something I can or should be doing as a leader of a global business. For me, it’s about empowering and developing my team such that they can lead in their own right and have autonomy to do so. This creates a high performing team and ultimately enables us to be more effective as a risk and compliance function.
How do you explain “I track terrorists and scammers online” at dinner parties? It’s always an interesting one! For some reason, people, including my own family, often assume I’m involved in fraud investigations or work directly with the police chasing criminals. So, when I do start talking about monitoring and tracing illicit activity, it’s not a total surprise. But it’s the blockchain part that really gets people. Most don’t fully understand what it is or how it works, so when I explain how we use blockchain analytics to trace financial crime in real time, it sparks a lot of curiosity. People always want to know how we actually identify the end criminal and whether they get caught. The answer? Not always, but we know we’ve played a meaningful role in enabling that outcome. And that’s incredibly rewarding.
What’s one thing outsiders don’t realize about doing this kind of work?
I think that, despite developments in the way in which digital assets are becoming
legitimized through regulation, societal uptake, and simply through the passage of time, there’s still a perception that it’s the easiest tool for criminals to launder money. Those of us working within crypto risk and compliance, however, understand that the tools we have available to us and the data held on the blockchain allow us to have insights into the risks, criminality, or any associations of assets we’re receiving, or even within the wallets we’re sending assets to. The reality of that means that we’re able to identify within a split second what in TradFi would take a team of asset tracers days or weeks to achieve.
What’s something Chainalysis helped you explain to someone outside your team?
One of the most valuable things Chainalysis has helped us articulate is the financial crime exposure linked to a client’s counterparty — and why, in some cases, we simply can’t accept funds from certain wallets.
Thanks to the analytics, our team can pinpoint exactly how much tainted crypto is involved and which wallets it’s interacted with. That level of clarity allows us to make far more informed decisions and, crucially, explain to both our clients and internal teams why some funds fall outside our risk appetite. It’s not just about saying “no” — it’s about showing the data behind the decision, and helping everyone understand the risk we’re managing. This often makes it more real and easier to explain — easier than I ever remember in TradFi!
If you were onboarding someone who came from a trad-fi company (much like yourself), what’s the first lesson you’d teach?
That the lessons you’ve learned in TradFi — especially around risk and compliance controls, and the high expectations from firms and regulators — absolutely apply in digital assets. The same level of rigour is expected, and in most cases, the approaches and tools you’ve used can be adapted to this space. Don’t lose that — bringing best practices into digital assets helps lay a strong foundation. Just be prepared to move faster, be more nimble, and learn the crypto-specific risks. Use your TradFi knowledge to shape and adapt controls that work in this new environment.
How does Chainalysis make your job as a CCO easier?
It’s 100% the hands-on support we get. Our CSM, Lucas Martino is incredible and is always there to support us. Whenever we need help, have a question, Lucas and the Chainalysis team are there straight away. It really helps relieve the pressure at critical times and reduces our stress in a role like mine, or in MLRO roles like many of my team. Lucas and Chainalysis always have the answers, great insights and great ideas. It sometimes feels like they’re in fact an extended part of our compliance team.
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The post Following the Money with Chainalysis: 7 Questions for Sophie Bowler from Zodia Custody appeared first on Chainalysis.
