Crypto Exchange Kraken reported a 38.6% increase in global law enforcement and regulatory data requests in 2024 compared to 2023.
The US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken received more data requests in 2024, showing how much attention law enforcement and government agencies are paying to crypto.
In a February 19 transparency report, San Francisco-based Crypto Exchange said that US institutions account for 28.6% of the total number of requests, an increase of 38.6% compared to 2023. Ta. The FBI tops the list with most requests – 614 total.
The demands were primarily from both federal and local law enforcement agencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which accounted for only 1.9% of U.S. institutional requests, has issued the majority of regulatory requests (37.3%), the exchange says.
Of the total 6,826 requests Kraken received in 2024, 57% of those were provided, according to the report. Most requests were from accounts in the US (34.5%), the UK (8.8%) and Germany (8.5%).
Another US-based exchange, Coinbase, also reported a decline in global requests for data in 2024. The company's December transparency report showed a total of 10,707 requests over the period, down approximately 18% from 2023.
Despite the overall decline, US law enforcement still constitutes the majority of requests, which consist of about 81% of all law enforcement requests. Germany, the UK, France, Spain and Australia were among the other top countries requesting data. In particular, Germany has dropped from 1,906 in 2023 to 1,269 in 2024 to 1,906, and requests from Singapore have jumped from 34 requests in 2023 to 34 requests in 2024 (+221%).
