How Scaling Law Enforcement Requests Enables Coinbase to Protect Users from Financial Crime

As one of the world’s largest publicly traded cryptocurrency exchanges with over 100 million verified users and $10 billion in daily trading volume, Coinbase sets the standard for security and compliance in digital assets. For John Kothanek, Vice President of Global Intelligence reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, efficiently managing law enforcement data requests is crucial to identifying and removing bad actors from their platform.

The Challenge

Email-based processes and fragmented data create security risks and operational burdens

With a lean team of 5-6 members handling 4,000-5,000 law enforcement requests annually, Coinbase faced significant obstacles in managing their investigative workload. The team wasn't just processing incoming requests – they were also leveraging this data to conduct proactive investigations into terrorism financing, human trafficking, nation-state threats, and cartel activities.

Their email-driven, spreadsheet-based approach created an unsustainable process. Team members had to manually track and respond to law enforcement requests through email while maintaining separate spreadsheets for documentation. While they were able, with substantial effort, to meet compliance obligations, this  created several critical challenges:

• One-off correspondence made it harder to see trends or connect dots between related requests to profile accounts or identify patterns of suspicious behavior
• Difficulty verifying and coordinating proactive investigations when multiple law enforcement agencies were involved
• No centralized system for documenting and tracking communications with law enforcement
• Reporting — including building transparency reports and responding to regulators and audits — was a slow, labor-intensive process

Finding a Solution

Kodex transforms case management while enabling strategic investigation capabilities

After connecting with Kodex's founder Matt, Kothanek found a partner who shared his urgency about fighting financial crime. "It's not just about having a solution," Kothanek explains. "It's about having a partner who understands that in our world, waiting six months for a feature isn't an option."

Kodex's implementation revolutionized how the Global Intelligence team processes law enforcement requests, delivering critical capabilities:

• Automated workflows eliminate manual data entry burden and improve team morale
• One-click transparency reports and structured metadata capture satisfy regulatory requirements instantly
• Robust verification systems prevent law enforcement impersonation attempts
• Comprehensive case histories maintain investigation continuity despite team changes
• Secure platform ensures sensitive cases remain protected from exposure

"When you have so much going on, the last thing you want to do is data entry," notes Kothanek. "Kodex lets us focus on what matters – using law enforcement data to identify and remove bad actors from our platform."

Looking Ahead

Building a more secure crypto ecosystem through efficient law enforcement collaboration

Through this transformation, Coinbase has strengthened its position as a leader in cryptocurrency security and compliance. For Kothanek's team, it's about more than just processing requests efficiently – it's about leveraging law enforcement data to proactively protect users from financial crime.

The impact extends beyond just Coinbase. By enabling more efficient processing of law enforcement requests and closer coordination with agencies, the team is helping to raise security standards across the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.

"In this industry, you need partners who you can trust," Kothanek concludes. "With Kodex, we trust that you guys care as much as we do about getting bad actors off our platform."

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