Services generate a distinct deposit address per customer, and often per asset. Funds sent there are swept into the service's own wallets shortly afterwards, which is why a deposit address usually shows a short life and a single onward sweep.
Reaching one in a trace is a meaningful result. The address itself names nobody, but the service can map it to an account holder, and that mapping is what a police request or a court order can reach.
Related terms
Exchange
A business that converts between cryptocurrencies and traditional currency and holds customer balances.
KYC
The identity checks a regulated business performs on its customers, and the records it keeps.
Attribution
Linking an address to a real-world service or person, using information from outside the ledger.
More in Tracing
Guides that use this term
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