Forensics Board Association

This course traces the major U.S. legal, regulatory, and case‑law milestones that shaped cryptocurrency and encryption from the early Crypto Wars through modern digital‑asset enforcement and classification disputes. It connects landmark moments such as government backdoor proposals and code as speech rulings to regulatory guidance, tax treatment, and Fourth Amendment decisions so attendees can place crypto evidence and compliance obligations in legal context. Attendees will learn to identify the key legal questions courts and regulators have addressed (privacy, speech, jurisdiction, and classification), recognize how regulatory frameworks lag technology, and explain how major rulings and guidance affect forensic practice (subpoenas, exchange records, and the legal characterization of token sales and crypto intermediaries). The timeline of events leading to Bitcoin's development in a legal and regulatory context.  The cryptography and currency contexts are covered in separate courses. The features that make cryptocurrency difficult to trace were built deliberately by people who considered financial surveillance a violation of natural rights and this course explores the litigation and regulation that contributed to the overall context. Read more

This course traces the cryptographic foundations that enabled modern digital currency, from early anonymity research through the Bitcoin whitepaper. It examines how cryptographic tools evolved independently of finance, ultimately converging with monetary failures to enable decentralized digital money. Attendees will learn how successive cryptographic innovations addressed problems of trust, privacy, and control. The course clarifies why Bitcoin emerged as an architectural response to both financial instability and longstanding limits of centralized digital systems. This presentation, The Origins of Crypto, offers a comprehensive exploration of the cryptographic innovations that led to the creation of Bitcoin. It covers a 26-year timeline from 1982 to 2008, tracing how a small group of mathematicians, computer scientists, and privacy advocates systematically built the technical and ideological foundations for decentralized digital currency. The course is designed with financial forensic experts and legal professionals in mind, because understanding the origins and design philosophy of cryptocurrency is essential for anyone who investigates, prosecutes, or adjudicates cases involving digital assets. Throughout this presentation, the key figures whose ideas and code made Bitcoin possible are introduced, along with an exploration of why each innovation matters for professional practice today. The recurring themes of privacy, decentralization, and distrust of central authority deserve close attention, as these are not incidental features of cryptocurrency but rather core design goals. Recognizing these themes will enhance effectiveness in forensic and legal work involving digital assets. Read more

This course explains how classic investment fraud indicators have been adapted to cryptocurrency investment scams. Although based on a 2023 article, the material remains relevant because the underlying scam mechanics such as psychological pressure, false credibility, fake platforms, and withdrawal obstruction have not changed. The course equips learners to recognize these persistent fraud patterns regardless of market conditions or technology. This course trains professionals to identify cryptocurrency investment scams by applying traditional fraud indicators to modern crypto contexts.  Its relevance does not depend on dates, tokens, or platforms; it lies in recognizing stable behavioral and structural scam patterns that remain active today.  These indicators continue to appear in forensic investigations, litigation, and victim interviews. Read more

This course examines the historical evolution of money from early fiat experiments to the modern pure fiat system. It traces how governments, banks, and war shaped currency through repeated cycles of debasement, confiscation, and centralization, providing essential context for understanding modern financial systems and their limitations. Attendees will learn to identify major monetary milestones, recognize recurring patterns of currency failure, and explain how political power and trust influence money.  The course equips learners to interpret historical monetary events in a way that informs modern financial analysis and forensic investigations.  Upon completion, attendees should be able to summarize the currency timeline, construct a coherent narrative linking money and cryptography, and present historically grounded explanations suitable for investigative reports, courtroom testimony, or professional education. Read more

In this course, attendees will identify, recognize, and locate financial records in Ledger wallet software, which requires the use of a Ledger hardware dongle device (known as a hardware wallet). This course is part of the Forensics Board membership and is available at no cost to all Forensics Board Association members. This course identifies types of financial records available to an account holder when using Ledger wallet hardware and software. This is not an exhaustive list of all records available through this account. This course will identify how to obtain, export, and produce records that are sufficient for determining asset balances and value and for conducting forensic analysis.  Read more

This is an overview of the CPF credential issued and maintained by the Forensics Board Association.  You can become a member of the Forensics Board Association through the website and prepare to take the CPF exam or other training.     Read more