In 2021, the largest American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase received five requests for disclosure of information about users from government and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation. This is stated in service transparency reportcovering the period from January 1 to September 30.
This is the third such report, but the first two did not include Russia. There is no detailed information on the content of the requests.
In total, the exchange received 5,562 government requests in the first three quarters of 2021. Most (84%) are combined in the United States, Great Britain and Germany. These countries are steadily holding the “leadership” in terms of the number of communications with the platform.
Along with Russia, Latvia, Greece, India, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Hungary have contacted for the first time this year for information on Coinbase customers.
Coinbase clarified that requests from law enforcement and government agencies generally relate to information about customer accounts and financial statements in connection with civil, criminal or other investigations.
“These requests may include subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, or other forms of formal legal process. We are required to respond to such requests if they are valid in accordance with financial regulations and other applicable laws, ”Coinbase said.
The number of requests received by the exchange in the first three quarters of 2021 is about 27% higher than for the whole of 2020. Currently, the platform, according to its own data, has more than 73 million customers around the world.
Recall that in June, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that since the beginning of the year, the exchange has responded to 5600 requests from law enforcement agencies. Compared to 2020, this figure has doubled.
