U.S. Federal Court Approves IRS Collection of Coinbase User Database

U.S. Federal Court Approves IRS Collection of Coinbase User Database

In a precedent-setting victory for the United States tax authorities, a California federal court has ruled in favor of the IRS serving Coinbase Inc. with a “John Doe” summons. The IRS requires the approval of a federal court in order to issue said summons, which covers virtually all Coinbase users who were clients from 2013 to 2015. The extent of this back-door surveillance is stunning in its depth and scope. Let’s review what the official “John Doe” summons requires of Coinbase: “Complete user profile, history of changes to user profile from account inception, complete user preferences,....


Related News

Court Approves IRS’ John Doe Summons against Coinbase

The Federal Court of Northern California District rules in favor of the John Doe summons issued on behalf of the IRS to Coinbase. Bad news for the Bitcoin community! In the days following Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) John Doe summons to Coinbase, the federal court in the Northern District of California has ruled in favor of the department. The ruling comes after Coinbase filed an appeal, seeking clarification about the extent of IRS authority and validity of the summons. With the latest ruling authorizing the IRS to serve John Doe summons to Coinbase, the digital currency platform will....

Coinbase Will Take IRS to Court Over Consumer Privacy Attack

The Bitcoin community at large and the Internet boards have been abuzz this week over the IRS (Internal Revenue Service, the national tax authority) of the United States launching a privacy attack on Bitcoin wallet provider Coinbase’s user base. As we have reported, by utilizing what is known as a “John Doe” summons, this potentially could give all of Coinbase’s user information to the agency. Late on Friday, Coinbase announced that they will seek court action in opposition to this manoeuvre. Protecting Customer Privacy. This puts Coinbase in an interesting position, like the one Apple....

IRS Effort to Access Coinbase Records Could Take Months

An effort by the US Internal Revenue Service to obtain user records from digital currency exchange Coinbase may take months to resolve. The IRS filed a petition last week in federal court, seeking court approval to subpoena data on customers who bought or sold bitcoin from Coinbase during the period between December 2013 and December 2015. Court filings indicate that no significant action is expected until mid-February. An initial case management conference has been scheduled for 16th February in San Francisco, with 26th January being the last day the two sides could meet to hammer out a....

The IRS is Targeting Bitcoin Transaction Records of Coinbase Users

Transaction records of Coinbase users, specifically bitcoiners, have been targeted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to a federal case filed in the U.S. District Court in the California Northern District Court. First revealed by ZeroHedge on a late Thursday night November 17, the civil petition was filed in the federal court in California the same day. With a “John Doe” summons, a summons issued by the IRS to a third party to provide information on unnamed, unknown taxpayer(s), the filing reads: Based upon a review of the Petition and supporting documents, the Court has....

Coinbase Prepares to Fight IRS Summons With New Court Filing

An attempt by the IRS to obtain user records from digital currency exchange Coinbase just got more complicated. Court documents filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California this week show that lawyers for the California-based startup have filed to officially intervene in the case. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched its case in late November, seeking court approval for a subpoena that would allow it to obtain information on US users (and, in its eyes, potential tax cheats) who used the service between 2013 and 2015. A month later, Coinbase customer Jeffrey....