Can transactions made on Coinbase be traced?

Transactions made on Coinbase, like most cryptocurrency exchanges, can indeed be traced. Coinbase operates within regulatory frameworks that necessitate the collection of personal identifying information from its users to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. When a user buys, sells, or transfers cryptocurrency on Coinbase, their transactions are recorded on the respective cryptocurrency's blockchain, which is a public ledger. While the blockchain itself might not directly reveal personal identity, the exchange has records of which wallet addresses are associated with which users. If Coinbase is requested by legal authorities to provide transaction information for investigative purposes or compliance with regulations, it can trace transactions to the individual users based on the data it collects and retains.