What is a transaction risk score

A transaction risk score is a numeric estimate of a specific transfer from 0 to 1, reflecting the probability that the funds involved are tied to illicit activity. Below 0.25 is low, 0.25 to 0.5 is medium, and 0.5 and above is high: in that zone transfers may be blocked by exchanges and payment providers.

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How transaction screening differs from address screening

Address screening evaluates everything behind an address: which sources its funds came from. Transaction screening is tied to one transfer — it takes the transaction hash and the recipient address.

The cost is the same: an address and a transaction each debit one check from your balance.

How to read the score

The number alone means little without the breakdown. The response contains the signals field — the shares of funds by source — and that is what explains the score: for example, 0.6 from a mixer and 0.3 from a darknet market produce a high score.

The check status comes in the status field: ok — risk below the blocking threshold, dirty — risk in the blocking zone (50% and above), pending — still running, error — a provider error with the check automatically refunded.

How to get the score via the API

Create a check with POST /v1/checks using the tx kind, the network code, the transaction hash and the recipient address. You get back 202 Accepted with an id.

From there you have two options: poll GET /v1/checks/{id} until a final status, or pass webhookUrl and receive the result as a push notification signed with HMAC-SHA256.

FAQ

Which value counts as blocking?

The risk zone starts at 0.5: such a check is marked dirty. The actual decision is up to your risk policy.

What if a check returns an error?

The debited check is automatically refunded. Provider errors are not billed.

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