Belgium Seeks Crypto Wallet Data From EU Domain Registrars

Belgian anti-piracy authorities are reportedly seeking extensive account and technical data from EU-based domain registrars in an investigation into suspected illegal sports-streaming services. The measures were issued by Belgium’s Department for Combating Online Infringement (BAPO), following orders from the French-speaking Business Court of Brussels.

The reported orders go beyond conventional website-blocking measures. They require registrars and a registry to provide identifying information associated with targeted domain accounts, including names, postal addresses, telephone numbers, payment information, IP addresses, device-related data, and connection logs for up to 12 months. They also reportedly request cryptocurrency wallet addresses and relevant transaction hashes.

The available decisions reportedly identify Hosting Concepts, Hostinger, and Key Systems among the intermediaries concerned, although the alleged infringing sites and the rightsholders behind the requests were redacted. References in the court’s reasoning to protection of the “sports economy” suggest that the cases concern unauthorized sports broadcasts.

The orders also reportedly prohibit recipients from notifying affected account holders or third parties. Any restriction on user notification must be assessed against the conditions in the Digital Services Act, particularly Article 9 on orders to provide information. For requests involving personal data, GDPR safeguards also remain applicable, including necessity, proportionality, legal basis, data minimization, and appropriate procedural protections. The reported cross-border use of Belgian orders against intermediaries established in other EU Member States may test the limits of those rules in practice.