The largest American bitcoin exchange Coinbase has published its first transparency report. It states that during the first half of 2020, the company received 1,914 government requests for information.
About 90% of requests came from three jurisdictions — the United States, Great Britain, and Germany.
- United States – 1113 requests
- United Kingdom – 441 requests
- Germany – 176 requests
- France – 45 requests
- Austria – 18 requests
- Spain – 12 requests
- Ireland – 11 requests
- Sweden – 9 requests
- Norway – 8 requests
- Switzerland – 7 requests
- Australia – 6 requests
- Netherlands – 6 requests
- South Korea – 6 requests
- Czech Republic – 5 requests
- Denmark – 5 requests
- Finland – 5 requests
- Poland – 5 requests
- Singapore – 5 requests
- Italy – 4 requests
- Canada – 3 requests
- Ukraine – 3 requests
- Belgium – 2 requests
- Brazil – 2 requests
- Hungary – 2 requests
- Malta – 2 requests
- Portugal – 2 requests
- Slovenia – 2 requests
- Estonia – 1 request
- Greece – 1 request
- Latvia – 1 request
- Romania – 1 request
- Slovakia – 1 request
- Turkey – 1 request
Us government agencies sent 1,113 requests to Coinbase, 60% of the total number. From them:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — 340;
- National Security Agency — 184;
- local government agencies and the drug enforcement administration — 180 and 104, respectively.
Coinbase also reported that it regularly receives subpoenas from law enforcement agencies.
“These requests mostly come in the form of subpoenas. They may also include search warrants, court decisions, and other formal procedures”
the company said.
Coinbase announced that they will continue to publish such reports in the future, but did not specify the frequency of their release.
In September, the San Francisco-based nonprofit digital rights group (EFF) called on Coinbase to issue transparency reports.
The company must specify how many government requests for information it receives and how it processes them.