Coinbase’s 19% Surge in Government Requests: A Global Surveillance Party!

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Well, well, well… Coinbase, the popular crypto exchange that everyone loves to hate, is feeling the heat! A whopping 19% increase in government and law-enforcement requests for information. We’re talking about 12,716 requests from October 2024 to September 2025. Who’s asking? Oh, just your friendly neighborhood government agents, just trying to know more about what you’re doing with your crypto. 🙄

Now, you’d think that the U.S. would be the king of snooping. Well, you’re right, sort of. The U.S. topped the charts with requests, but get this-over half of the requests came from other countries! Germany’s in the lead, making the U.S. look like a bit of an amateur in the world of snooping. 🇩🇪

According to Coinbase’s Transparency Report 2025 (published December 1, because nothing says “I’m transparent” like a public report), they’ve got some interesting stats. Last year, they received 10,707 requests, with the U.S. leading at 5,252. Germany was second, with a mere 1,272 requests. Fast forward to 2025, and the U.S. is still leading with 5,920 requests, but Germany’s been slacking with only 1,210. And check this out: France? Yeah, they saw a 111% jump in requests. Maybe they’re just really into data now. 🇫🇷

So, let’s break it down. The U.S., Germany, France, the UK, and Australia together account for a solid 80% of all requests. Meanwhile, South Korea, Sweden, and Germany are seeing a drop in interest-about 5% in Germany, to be precise. Poor Moldova, Brazil, and Costa Rica are going wild with an uptick in requests. Poor guys… they just want to know what you’re doing with your crypto, alright? 🌍

And here’s the real kicker-95% of the requests are related to criminal matters. Yeah, that’s right. It’s all about crime, people. Only 5% of these are about civil or administrative stuff. But the U.S.? They’ve got their own little crime party, with 52% of their requests related to federal crime investigations. State and Local? Only 39%. So, the federal government’s doing the heavy lifting. 👮‍♂️

Law enforcement information requests by country of origin, from Q4 2024 to Q3 2025 | Source: Coinbase

Privacy Concerns? Oh, You Bet!

Let’s not forget the privacy concerns, shall we? Crypto is supposed to be the land of freedom and anonymity, but apparently, everyone wants to know your business. Data breaches are a thing, and when Coinbase gets hacked, oh boy, it’s not pretty. Back in May, 69,461 users had their sensitive data exposed. That’s a lot of people to be worrying about their digital wallets. And let’s not even get started on the whole cover-up story… $400 million in damages? Sounds like a movie script. 🍿

After the breach, there was a noticeable spike in Google searches for privacy coins. And what happened next? Zcash (ZEC) saw a 1,000% price surge! People clearly got the memo-privacy is the new luxury, folks. 🎭

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2025-12-02 07:45