A Judge Just Approved the IRS Request to Seek Coinbase's User Records
The US Internal Revenue Service can serve bitcoin and ether exchange startup Coinbase with a summons for information about its users, a federal judge ordered today. In an order dated 30th November, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sided with a request filed earlier this month by the IRS as it seeks to investigate alleged tax violations in the US. When reached for comment, Coinbase said that it expected the order and that it would release a formal statement later today. The US government celebrated the development, with IRS Commissioner John Koskinen noting in a statement: “Transactions in....
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The IRS can now serve bitcoin and ether exchange startup Coinbase with a summons for information about its users, a federal judge ruled today. In an order dated 30th November, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sided with a request filed earlier this month by the IRS as part of its bid to investigate alleged tax violations in the US pertaining or connected to digital currency use. When reached for comment, Coinbase said that it expected the order and that it would release a formal statement. The company later said: "We are aware of, and expected, the court’s ex parte order today. We look....
On November 17, the IRS filled a “John Doe” summons targeting transaction records of prominent bitcoin company Coinbase’s bitcoiners registered between January 2013 and December 2015. At the time, the exchange argued it takes user privacy very seriously, and as such it would work towards protecting it. On December 1, a federal judge approved the IRS summons, and demanded Coinbase to reveal user transaction records. Soon, a Coinbase customer named Jeffrey K. Berns, who is also a lawyer, filed a motion to block the IRS’ efforts to access Coinbase users’ records. Since the IRS filed a John....
In an expected development, bitcoin exchange Coinbase has filed a motion [PDF] in a San Francisco federal court to block the Internal Revenue Service from accessing transaction records of bitcoin users. The IRS filed a civil petition on November 17, targeting transaction records of bitcoiners registered with the exchange between January 2013 and December 2015. On December 1, a federal judge approved the IRS summons demanding Coinbase to reveal the transaction records. An excerpt from the introduction of the motion filed by Coinbase in response to the IRS request reads: [B]ased on three....
Coinbase, which faces an IRS subpoena to disclose records on all of its U.S. customers, wants customers to know that while the company has chosen to fight the IRS on releasing customer information, it remains committed to complying with tax reporting requirements. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO and co-founder, clarified the company’s position in a recent Medium post in which he appealed to the IRS to work with Coinbase and suggested a tax reporting form that Charles Schwab and Fidelity use might be a solution. On December 1, a federal judge approved an IRS summons and demanded Coinbase....
Editor’s Note: The article’s headline and content has been amended to note that the motion was filed by a customer of Coinbase and not the exchange, as reported erroneously, earlier. The misinformation is regretted. A customer from bitcoin exchange Coinbase has filed a motion [PDF] in a San Francisco federal court to block the Internal Revenue Service from accessing transaction records of bitcoin users. The IRS filed a civil petition on November 17, targeting transaction records of bitcoiners registered with the exchange between January 2013 and December 2015. On December 1, a federal....