Coinbase is clearly warning customers about the CFTC’s Bybit inquiry

Coinbase is warning that it has received a subpoena from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to X (formerly Twitter) users who posted copies of the message. The CFTC is seeking information about the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange.

Recipients assumed that any Coinbase customer who also used Bybit received the message. According to the Nov. 27 message, Coinbase may provide information on users' accounts and trading activities to the CFTC until the subpoena is returned by a court.

Dubai-based Bybit announced earlier this year that its service would not be available in the US, but it was reported that it could be used over a virtual private network (VPN).

The day after Coinbase's connection, ByBit announced that it had reached 20 million users. It describes itself as a “top-three cryptocurrency exchange”. According to the exchange statement:

“Precautionary risk management and improved AML [Anti-Money Laundering] Compliance has led Baybit to obtain licenses in the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Cyprus.

Bybit has announced that it will impose Know Your Customer (KYC) verification on users in July 2021, although it is unclear when that will happen. Bybit has issued KYC guidelines for its customers in September 2022.

Related: Opyn DeFi protocol founders are leaving crypto after CFTC leak

Bybit has said it will exit the UK market in October when new Financial Conduct Authority rules come into effect in September. In August, it removed two sanctioned Russian banks from the payment list.

I'm off Twitter watching some football. One of my friends sent me this email he received from Coinbase. I don't know how many people are subject to this, what the scope is, etc… However, Coinbase and ByBit don't seem to mix well together! pic.twitter.com/L3qqDBp2TN

— Suitman (@NotSuitman) November 28, 2023

The CFTC has designated itself as the “lead” enforcement agency for crypto through the end of the 2023 fiscal year. During that period, it initiated 47 cases in the digital assets sector, representing 49 percent of the cases filed. Among those cases were lawsuits against FTX, Celsius, Voyager Digital CEO Stephen Ehrlich, and Binance.

Neither Coinbase nor Bybit responded to Cointelegraph's requests for comment.

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