Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has experienced a significant increase in requests for customer information from government and law enforcement agencies. Over the past three years, there has been a notable uptick in these inquiries.
According to a recent transparency report by Coinbase, from October 1st, 2022, to September 30th, 2023, the exchange received 13,079 requests for customer information. This figure represents a 6% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
More strikingly, this number reflects a 209% jump compared to the requests received between July 1st, 2020, and December 31st, 2020, which totaled 4,227.
The report highlights that 57% of these requests originated outside the United States. Notably, 19 countries, including Armenia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Colombia, Moldova, Côte d’Ivoire, New Caledonia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, made such requests for the first time.
Approximately 73% of the law enforcement requests came predominantly from four countries: the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Among these, the United States led the list with 5,686 requests, followed by Germany with 1,908.
The report also mentioned a significant increase in requests from authorities in countries like Australia, Portugal, and France, with increases of 262%, 211%, and 52%, respectively.
Coinbase emphasizes its commitment to maintaining a balance between protecting customer privacy and fulfilling legal obligations. The company ensures that a team of experts thoroughly reviews each request. These professionals follow established procedures to assess the legal validity of each request. In cases where requests are overly broad or vague, Coinbase endeavors to narrow them down to provide a more targeted response. Sometimes, they may even object to providing any information if the request lacks legal basis.
Via: 2Usethebitcoin.com
