Crypto exchange Kraken has reported a 38.6% rise in global law enforcement and regulatory data requests in 2024 compared to 2023.
U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken got a lot more data requests in 2024, showing just how much attention law enforcement and government agencies are paying to crypto.
In a Feb. 19 transparency report, the San Francisco-based crypto exchange said the number of requests went up by 38.6% compared to 2023, with U.S. agencies making up 28.6% of the total. The FBI topped the list with the most requests — 614 in total.
The requests were mainly from law enforcement agencies, both federal and local. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission only accounted for 1.9% of the U.S. agency requests, it issued a large portion (37.3%) of the regulatory agency requests, the exchange says.
Out of the total 6,826 requests Kraken received in 2024, data was provided for 57% of them, per the report. Most requests were for accounts located in the U.S. (34.5%), the U.K. (8.8%), and Germany (8.5%).
Coinbase, another U.S.-based exchange, also reported a decrease in global requests for data in 2024. The company’s December transparency report shows a total of 10,707 requests for the period, a roughly 18% decrease from 2023.
Despite the overall decrease, U.S. law enforcement still made up the lion’s share of requests, comprising around 81% of all law enforcement requests. Germany, the U.K., France, Spain, and Australia were among the other top countries requesting data. In particular, Germany saw a drop in requests, from 1,906 in 2023 to 1,269 in 2024, while requests from Singapore saw a massive surge (+221%), jumping from 34 requests in 2023 to 109 in 2024.
