The cryptocurrency sector, famed for its volatility, has continued to boom during 2025, alongside the second Trump administration’s embrace of the technology. Bitcoin is trading at over $100,000 USD, and crypto mogul Changpeng Zhao was recently pardoned after admitting to violating federal banking regulations.
Cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Zhao’s former company Binance are a necessary part of this market – they are the platforms that facilitate exchange of traditional currency with digital assets.
Docket Alarm analytics, tracking litigation against those three companies, indicate that litigation involving crypto exchanges has grown steadily along with crypto trading in recent years. A spike in cases in 2025 is tied to a multidistrict litigation connected to a purported customer data breach at Coinbase.
Of the three entities tracked, Coinbase is involved in the most federal lawsuits, at 202. Binance has seen 40, while Kraken, which is operated by Payward Inc., has only been involved in 26 cases. All parties are the defendant over 75% of the time.
Coinbase’s case types vary from statutory actions, contract, to personal injury (in connection with the aforementioned alleged data breach). Their main counsel is Bryan Cave, while WilmerHale is representing them in data breach cases.
At Binance, the case types include Securities and Exchange, Fraud, and RICO.
Among the cases surveyed, the most frequent plaintiff is the United States federal government. Second is Coinbase, which has brought suits confirming arbitration awards in recent years.
