[SCAN 2026 Final Interview] ⑤EDCCS: Chinese University Students Compete in Blockchain Tracking Contest for the First Time

The finals of the world's first digital asset tracking competition, 'SCAN 2026', will be held on September 28 at 9 AM at Monaco Space in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

SCAN 2026, organized by digital asset information company DAsset, aims to enhance cybersecurity and investigative capabilities in the realm of digital assets, with global blockchain data platform Chainalysis participating as a CTF (Capture The Flag) partner.

The finals will feature the top 20 teams from the preliminary round (a total of 416 teams and 754 participants).

conducted written interviews with teams composed of global law enforcement agencies, security experts, and university students that advanced to the finals.

*The teams advancing to the finals are as follows. (In alphabetical order)

0xfun / 1nf1n1ty / 67 / BITSkrieg / CertiScan / DeFiHackLabs / EDCCS / Funds Went to Kerning City / hello / IBarelyKnowHer / J0y_B0y / lazarus2026 / Lv1x / Project Sekai / T34M1 / Tardigrades / Tornado Cats / youtiaos / Ubsida Academia / Chaos of KAOS

Q. What motivated you to form your team, and what backgrounds and expertise do your team members have?

"EDCCS is a student team united by a common interest in cybersecurity and security competitions. We are all enrolled in different universities. Two members are from Qinhuangdao Northeast University, one from Henan University of Economics and Law, and one from Chengdu University of Information Technology.

The roles among team members are not distinctly divided; rather, there is significant overlap in our technical backgrounds. Most of our experience comes from CTF competitions, vulnerability research, tool development, and engineering implementation. We are accustomed to quickly identifying what information or capabilities are needed to tackle unfamiliar technical problems and to creating or modifying tools to make the problem-solving process more efficient.

This was our first time participating in a competition that specifically deals with blockchain investigations and fund tracking like SCAN 2026. Therefore, we did not start with a specialized blockchain investigation workflow from the beginning. Instead, we applied the methodologies we usually use in CTF competitions to this new field.

During the preliminary round, we did not have fixed role assignments. Team members flexibly took on the most necessary tasks as needed, which is similar to how we collaborate in regular CTFs."

Q. You passed the SCAN 2026 preliminary round, which had 416 teams participating worldwide, to reach the finals. How do you feel about advancing to the finals, and what was the most memorable moment during the preliminary process?

"We were very pleased to advance to the finals, and since this was our first time participating in a competition in this field, the results were somewhat unexpected.

Prior to SCAN 2026, our team's competition experience was focused more on traditional cybersecurity CTFs rather than blockchain investigations. Advancing to the finals confirmed that various skills developed through CTFs, such as quickly learning unfamiliar environments, finding useful information, automating repetitive tasks, and formulating and validating hypotheses, can be effectively applied to on-chain investigations.

Rather than pinpointing a specific problem or moment, the most memorable realization was that our usual CTF workflow works quite well even in a completely different type of competition.

Of course, the result of advancing to the finals itself is the most definitive proof of this."

Q. What was the most challenging problem or situation you faced while solving the SCAN 2026 preliminary problems? How did you approach and resolve the issues?

"There wasn't a specific problem that was overwhelmingly difficult compared to others.

The biggest challenge was the unfamiliarity with the field itself. Since it was our first time participating in a blockchain investigation competition, some data sources, transaction structures, terminology, and investigation methods felt unfamiliar.

We responded in essentially the same way as when encountering unfamiliar categories in CTFs. First, we identified exactly what the problem was asking, organized the information needed to find the answer, then sought appropriate data sources and tools, and subsequently automated the investigation and validation processes as much as possible.

If a single approach did not yield sufficient evidence, we would change our search direction, utilize different sources, or verify conclusions through alternative paths.

In other words, rather than relying on prior experience with a specific blockchain investigation platform, we approached the problem with a focus on rapid adaptation and iterative validation."

Q. What tools, technologies, and analytical methods did you use for on-chain data analysis and fund flow tracking during the preliminary round? If you developed any programs or had unique analytical methods, please share them.

"A significant part of our workflow involved AI-based automation.

We did not use AI tools solely for answering individual questions; rather, we integrated them as part of a broader investigation and analysis workflow. When presented with a problem, the AI tool would search for relevant information, access usable data sources, query APIs to analyze returned results, derive possible explanations, and cross-validate candidate answers.

Before the preliminary round, we secured access to several APIs and data sources that we anticipated would be useful during the competition. This allowed the AI-based workflow to have a broader capability when information was needed that could not be obtained through simple web searches.

The team's role primarily involved building and coordinating this workflow. We decided which tools and information to utilize, improved the process when results were not sufficiently reliable, and directly validated important conclusions when necessary.

This approach closely aligns with how we typically engage in CTFs. Instead of repeating the same tasks manually, we prefer to automate repetitive searches, queries, parsing, and validation as much as possible.

In that sense, we did not treat AI as a simple chatbot. Rather, we regarded it as an automation layer that could combine searching, tool usage, data analysis, and validation into a single problem-solving process.

This aspect was one of the most useful elements in the preliminary round."

Q. What do you think is your team's greatest strength or differentiated problem-solving approach compared to other teams in the finals?

"I believe our greatest strength lies in our ability to quickly adapt to unfamiliar technical problems and to create a problem-solving process that resembles an engineering workflow.

Through our experience in CTFs and vulnerability research, we have learned how to work in situations where we initially do not know the technology, intended solution methods, or even which tools will ultimately be useful. We are accustomed to learning what is necessary during the problem-solving process and quickly pivoting directions when needed.

Another distinguishing aspect of our approach is the emphasis on automation.

We not only ask, 'How can we solve this problem manually?' but also pose the question, 'How much of this process can be automated by tools?'

This includes information gathering, API querying, data processing, hypothesis generation, and answer validation. By reducing the amount of repetitive manual work, we can pay more attention to whether the overall solving strategy is correct.

I cannot say that this approach is universally better than those of other teams in the finals, especially since many teams may have much deeper experience in the field of blockchain investigations. However, for EDCCS, combining CTF thinking, engineering implementation, and AI-based automation is likely our most distinctive feature."

Q. What preparations are you making ahead of the finals on September 28?

"We do not plan to completely change the approaches that were effective in the preliminary round. Instead, we are refining them to be more reliable and better suited for the finals.

One direction is to improve the AI-based workflow. We are fine-tuning how to connect different tools, APIs, and data sources, as well as how to cross-validate results from multiple sources.

We are also preparing for situations where specific APIs or information sources may be unavailable, incomplete, or inconsistent. Having alternative methods to obtain and validate information will make our workflow more robust in a time-constrained competition.

At the same time, we are becoming more familiar with blockchain transaction structures, common fund flow patterns, and investigation methods. The goal is to reduce the amount of basic domain knowledge we need to learn during the competition.

Since we confirmed through the preliminary round that existing CTF methodologies are useful in this field, we are focusing our preparations on refining those methodologies rather than starting from scratch."

Q. If you win first place in the finals and receive a prize, what would you like to do with it?

"Winning the competition itself would hold greater significance than the prize money.

Since this is our first time participating in this type of competition, achieving a good result against teams from around the world would be a very valuable experience and a strong motivation to continue exploring this field.

If we are fortunate enough to win, I would like to use part of the prize money to support future security research, CTF participation, technical infrastructure, and tool development for upcoming projects.

I also hope that SCAN 2026 will serve as an opportunity to learn more about blockchain security and digital asset investigations beyond this competition.

I appreciate the opportunity for this interview and look forward to participating in the SCAN 2026 finals in Seoul.

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