Coinbase interacted with law enforcement 12,320 times in 12 months

According to Coinbase.com/blog/transparency-report-2022">Coinbase’s report, from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022, the cryptocurrency exchange received 12 320 requests for disclosure of customer information from law enforcement agencies, making Coinbase the crypto platform that cooperates with law enforcement the most.

«Since last year’s report, the number of requests has more than doubled. We attribute this to a combination of our own expansion and a general increase in law enforcement and regulatory interest in the crypto industry,» commented Coinbase General Counsel Paul Grewal. The exchange has cooperated with law enforcement agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and France.

Among the European countries that have begun to turn to Coinbase more actively this year are Spain, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and the United Kingdom. «Requests may include subpoenas, rulings, search warrants, or other official legal procedures. We are obliged to respond to them if they are legitimate under financial and other applicable rules,» Grewal emphasized.

Some members of the cryptocurrency community believe that Coinbase is overly eager to meet the requirements of regulators, while ignoring the needs of its own customers. This point of view is supported by former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden. At the Camp Decrypt 2022 conference, the programmer warned the community about the dangers of the online space, which is used by corporations and governments to collect user data for their own purposes. According to the programmer, this is not a noble goal.