Coinbase Files Privacy Lawsuit Over 2017 IRS Request for Customer Transaction Records

Global virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Coinbase has filed a privacy lawsuit regarding the 2017 request by the IRS for customer transaction records.

On the 30th (local time), according to virtual asset specialist media CoinDesk, Coinbase stated in a petition to the Supreme Court that "the government's demand for data from hundreds of thousands of users is excessive" and that "this issue will have a greater impact on privacy protection."

They further argued that "the court must protect Americans' privacy rights over digital information stored by third-party service providers."

The U.S. IRS, during the first Trump administration, demanded financial records under the condition that individuals must disclose transaction records if they share information with third parties.

In this case, the third party is Coinbase.

The exchange emphasized that "if the government obtains information such as public keys and wallet addresses, user anonymity will disappear and the blockchain will become vulnerable to surveillance."

Previously, in 2020, Coinbase user James Harper also filed a lawsuit claiming that the IRS's collection of personal information violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and infringed on privacy.