Coinbase Reveals Over 13,000 Requests from Law Enforcement Agencies
U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has disclosed that it received more than 13,000 requests from law enforcement agencies. According to Coinbase’s recent “Transparency Report,” published on November 29, 2023, the exchange received a total of 13,079 requests from October 2022 to September 30, 2023, marking a 6% increase compared to the previous year.
Increase in Requests from the U.S.
The United States was the most active country in terms of law enforcement requests, accounting for 5,868 inquiries, which represents a 57% share of the total during the reporting period. Coinbase clarified that these figures indicate the requests received and not necessarily those responded to. The exchange aims to provide anonymized or aggregated data that assists law enforcement agencies instead of individual customer information.
Requests from Other Countries
In addition to the U.S., other countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Armenia also sent requests to Coinbase. Notably, Armenia made its first-ever requests to the San Francisco-based exchange in 2023.
Surge in Requests from Ukraine
Ukraine witnessed the highest year-over-year increase in requests sent to Coinbase, with a surge of over 300% in 2023. The majority of law enforcement agencies worldwide sought information for criminal cases (95.6%), while only a small percentage (4.4%) were related to civil or administrative legal actions.
Coinbase’s Response
Coinbase may provide certain customer information depending on the nature and scope of the request, such as name, recent login/logout IP address, and payment details. However, the exchange emphasized that it does not grant any government direct access to customer information on its or any third-party’s systems.
Hot Take: Biden Administration Seeks Updates to Treasury’s Sanctions Authority
The Biden administration is pushing Congress to consider significant updates to the Treasury’s sanctions authority, particularly in the digital asset space. U.S. foreign trade representative Wally Adeyemo highlighted the need for a “secondary sanctions regime” and provided recommendations to expand authorities and resources for combating illicit actors in the cryptocurrency industry.
By
By
By
By
By