Cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift received a 175% rise in requests from law enforcement during the second half of 2018, according to a new Compliance Transparency report published by the exchange.
The report states that ShapeShift received requests from law enforcement agencies in regards to transaction IDs, customer identity information, and cryptocurrency addresses.
ShapeShift received a total of 44 subpoena requests in the second half of 2018, up 175% compared to the first half of the year, when they received just 16.
Six of the requests from law enforcement came from the FBI, while five came from US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Kraken inspired us to convey similar transparency in law enforcement requests. Voila… "Pulling Back The Curtain: How ShapeShift Handles Law Enforcement Compliance" https://t.co/aGVqeLvR4C @krakenfx @jespow #bitcoin #blockchain
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) January 18, 2019
In response to whether the amount of requests was unusual, ShapeShift responded: “The short answer is no. Requests of this type, especially in the cryptocurrency industry, are common, and based on our number of transactions and user volumes, this seems to be pretty typical.”
This would certainly appear to be the case for the rest of the cryptosphere. When asked by CNBC about a subpoena his cryptofund received in 2018, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington stated: “We received a subpoena. Every [crypto]fund I’ve talked to has received one…”
ShapeShift came under intense scrutiny from the Wall Street Journal in the later stages of 2018, with the publication alleging that ShapeShift had facilitated $9 million of laundered funds through the exchange.
ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees hit out at the WSJ, writing on Twitter: “We are aware of the poorly-researched piece written against us by someone at WSJ. The implications are disingenuous and misleading.”
Although the article may have been misleading, ShapeShift have suffered from 2018’s ongoing bear market. They laid off 37 staff after citing “market conditions” as the primary reason.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.