Coinbase, the biggest U.S.-based crypto exchange by trading volume, has reported a 66% increase in the number of requests received from law enforcement or government agencies over the last year.
Coinbase’s Law Enforcement Requests Grew by 66% Over the Last Year
In its latest Transparency Report, Coinbase said it received 12,320 total requests from government agencies between October 1st, 2021, and September 30th, 2022. 5,304 came from the U.S., while 1,744 requests came from the U.K.
Although the U.S. submitted the most requests, the number of international requests filed over the period increased by 6% to make up 57% of all requests.
The Reason Behind the Spike in Enforcement Requests
As per the report, 95.3% of the requests received by Coinbase both globally and in the U.S. were from law enforcement agencies in connection with criminal enforcement matters, with only 4.7% relating to civil or administrative matters.
Coinbase notes that these criminal enforcement requests included subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, and other formal legal processes. The spike in enforcement requests coincides with a spike in crypto criminal activities.
Government agencies worldwide are filing requests in pursuit of bad actors who engaged in prohibited activity or otherwise abused crypto products. Coinbase seeks to play its part by providing necessary data to government agencies.
On the Flipside
- Coinbase’s 12,000+ requests are dwarfed by the 47,000 law enforcement requests Binance responded to since November 2021.
Why You Should Care
Coinbase’s transparency report highlights the exchange’s commitment to fighting crypto crimes – a growing menace for the industry.
Coinbase’s recent promotion of Tether is covered below:
Coinbase Questions Tether’s (USDT) Stability Amid Growing Concerns Over Stablecoins
Read about Coinbase’s predicted revenue in:
CEO of Coinbase Is Not Hopeful for a Bull Market, Fearing 50% Revenue Drop Compared With 2021