Coinbase Reports a 6% Surge in Data Requests from Federal Agencies
- Coinbase has reported a 6% increase in information requests from federal agencies in 2023.
- Between Q4 2022 and Q3 2023, the US, Germany, the UK, and Spain sent the most requests.
- The US sent 5,686 requests this year, up from 5,304 last year, with 90.4% being sent by enforcement agencies.
- Australia sent 262% more requests in 2023 as compared to 2022 and is ranked sixth in the list.
Coinbase, the largest digital asset trading platform in the United States, has reported a 6% increase in information requests from law enforcement and government agencies in 2023 as compared to 2022. Additionally, the number of jurisdictions that have issued such requests has also surged by 19, as per the exchange’s transparency report.
According to the report published earlier this week by Coinbase, four countries, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain, made up nearly three-quarters (73%) of the 13,079 agency requests that the leading exchange received between Q4 2022 and Q3 2023. Interestingly, the US remained the country with the highest number of requests in both 2022 and 2023, with a slight increase in 2023.
It is important to note that the US sent 5,686 requests to Coinbase this year, up from 5,304 last year. Further, 90.4% of these requests came from criminal enforcement agencies. The second position is held by Germany, which sent 1,906 requests, while the third position is held by the UK, which sent 1,401 requests, slightly down from last year. Finally, Spain sent a mere 732 requests.
On the other hand, Australia sent 262% more requests to Coinbase compared to 2023, ranking sixth at 453 requests. Additionally, the number of requests from Ukraine almost tripled, while that from Portugal more than doubled. However, the two nations did not even come in the top 15.
The transparency report from Coinbase covered the final quarter of 2022 and the first three of 2023 and included subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, and other formal legal processes. While the exchange provided data such as “customer information, such as name, recent login/logout IP address, and payment information,” it also pushed back in some cases.
“Our obligation is to respond to these requests if they are valid under financial regulations and other applicable laws. […] Under certain circumstances, we may ask the government or law enforcement agency to narrow their request,” said the exchange.
As covered earlier by BitcoinWisdom, Coinbase has seen significant growth after the legal actions taken by the Department of Justice (DoJ) against the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. The US-based exchange’s stock has continued to soar and recently reached its highest levels in 18 months.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
