How to request a subpoena for a crypto exchange
A subpoena is a legal order that compels a crypto exchange to produce account records, transaction logs, or identifying information about a user. You cannot file one yourself - you must request it through law enforcement or through a civil attorney who has filed a lawsuit. The exchange will not voluntarily hand over another user’s data without a valid subpoena or court order.
Who can request a subpoena
Two paths exist, and they are not interchangeable.
Law enforcement subpoena. If you have filed a police report for a crypto scam and the case is under active investigation, the investigating officer or prosecutor can issue a subpoena to an exchange. You can ask the officer to do this, but they are not required to. Police priorities, resources, and jurisdiction determine whether they will pursue this step. Most police departments will not subpoena an offshore exchange without a registered local office.
Civil subpoena from a lawsuit. If you have hired a lawyer and filed a civil lawsuit against an unknown defendant (a “John Doe” suit), your attorney can request the court to issue a subpoena. The court must approve it. This is how many victims obtain the scammer’s identity from an exchange. You cannot do this without a lawyer, because a subpoena must be served by a qualified process server or law enforcement officer, and the legal basis must be argued to a judge.
What information a subpoena can demand
A properly drafted subpoena can request:
- Full name, date of birth, and address of the account holder
- Email address and phone number used to register
- IP addresses and device fingerprints used during login
- Deposit and withdrawal records, including external wallet addresses
- KYC documents (government ID, proof of address, selfie)
- Transaction history for specific dates or wallets
What it cannot demand: passwords, private keys, or the ability to return funds. A subpoena is a discovery tool, not a recovery tool.
Steps to request a subpoena through law enforcement
- File a police report. The report must include the exchange name, the scammer’s deposit address if known, transaction hashes, and the amount stolen. Without a report, there is no case file for a subpoena to attach to.
- Provide evidence linking the exchange account to the crime. Submit your blockchain tracing work or a professional tracing report that shows the stolen funds landed in a wallet on that exchange. Law enforcement needs probable cause to believe the account belongs to the scammer.
- Ask the investigating officer to request the subpoena. Explain what you need and why. Be prepared for them to decline if the amount is small or the exchange is based in a jurisdiction with poor cooperation.
- Follow up. Police workloads vary. A polite check-in every few weeks is reasonable. If the officer says no, your only option is the civil route.
Steps to request a subpoena through a civil lawsuit
- Consult a lawyer who handles crypto fraud cases. They will assess whether the exchange is likely to comply and whether the potential recovery justifies the legal costs.
- File a John Doe lawsuit. You sue “John Doe” as a placeholder for the unknown scammer. The lawsuit must state a valid legal claim, such as fraud or theft.
- File a motion for expedited discovery. This asks the court to allow you to subpoena the exchange before the normal discovery phase. Judges grant this when you show that the identity is needed to proceed and that the scammer might destroy evidence or withdraw funds.
- Draft and serve the subpoena. Your lawyer drafts the subpoena listing the exact records requested. The court signs it. A process server or sheriff delivers it to the exchange’s registered agent.
- Wait for the exchange to respond. Centralized exchanges typically have 21 - 30 days to comply, depending on jurisdiction. Some may object or require a court order from their home country.
What happens after the subpoena is served
The exchange reviews the subpoena for legal validity. If it appears proper, they will search their records and produce the requested data, usually in a PDF or spreadsheet. They may redact information not covered by the subpoena. If the subpoena is defective or conflicts with local privacy laws, they may refuse or ask the court to quash it.
If the exchange is based outside your country, cooperation depends on mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) or the exchange’s willingness to comply voluntarily. Many exchanges registered in tax havens or with no physical office ignore subpoenas from foreign courts unless pressured by their own regulators.
What a subpoena cannot do
A subpoena cannot force an exchange to freeze or return funds. That requires a separate court order, such as a temporary restraining order or asset preservation order. A subpoena also cannot compel an exchange to reveal a password or mnemonic phrase - that data is not stored in plain text. And if the scammer withdrew the funds before the subpoena was served, the records will show the destination wallet but not who controls it.
Practical limits
Even with a successful subpoena, you may learn the scammer’s identity but still fail to recover funds. The person could be in a different country, have no assets, or have used a fake ID during registration. A subpoena is one step in a longer process that may lead to a lawsuit, a judgment, and then an attempt to collect - which often fails.
If the exchange is decentralized or non-custodial, it has no account records to subpoena. No central entity holds the data. In those cases, tracing and subpoenas are both dead ends.
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