Paper Type

Complete

Abstract

Blockchain technology is frequently characterized as inherently transparent and tamper-resistant, suggesting strong potential for improving auditability and integrity in cryptocurrency fraud investigations. However, practical forensic outcomes often fall short of these expectations due to regulatory fragmentation, anonymity-enhancing mechanisms, decentralized infrastructures, and limitations in audit and investigative tooling. This study develops a structured conceptual framework to explain the gap between blockchain’s theoretical transparency and real-world forensic accounting capability. Synthesizing 70 relevant studies from an initial pool of 279 published manuscript, the paper organizes cryptocurrency forensic constraints into macro-level barriers and operationalizes them through twenty literature-derived critical factors. We further develop a temporal framework that distinguishes persistent constraints from emergent challenges, demonstrating how investigative bottlenecks evolve as cryptocurrency ecosystems mature. By linking barriers and operational factors to forensic accounting capability and investigative outcomes, the study provides an integrated and time-sensitive foundation for future empirical validation and capability development in decentralized financial environments.

Paper Number

1949

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Aug 15th, 12:00 AM

Evolving Challenges in Cryptocurrency Fraud Investigations: A Temporal Framework for Forensic Accounting Capability

Blockchain technology is frequently characterized as inherently transparent and tamper-resistant, suggesting strong potential for improving auditability and integrity in cryptocurrency fraud investigations. However, practical forensic outcomes often fall short of these expectations due to regulatory fragmentation, anonymity-enhancing mechanisms, decentralized infrastructures, and limitations in audit and investigative tooling. This study develops a structured conceptual framework to explain the gap between blockchain’s theoretical transparency and real-world forensic accounting capability. Synthesizing 70 relevant studies from an initial pool of 279 published manuscript, the paper organizes cryptocurrency forensic constraints into macro-level barriers and operationalizes them through twenty literature-derived critical factors. We further develop a temporal framework that distinguishes persistent constraints from emergent challenges, demonstrating how investigative bottlenecks evolve as cryptocurrency ecosystems mature. By linking barriers and operational factors to forensic accounting capability and investigative outcomes, the study provides an integrated and time-sensitive foundation for future empirical validation and capability development in decentralized financial environments.