IRS Summons Coinbase, but the Bitcoin Exchange Fights Back

Following a summons from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to bitcoin exchange Coinbase to reveal customer information, the firm has enacted stiff opposition to the request.

The US tax authority requested information on all of Coinbase’s customers who bought bitcoin between 2013 and 2015. Pointing to just three instances of tax evasion through the use of bitcoin, an IRS agent claims at least two of these incidents were aided and abetted by Coinbase. Along with the view that bitcoin conceals individual’s identities, the IRS is especially interested in investigating virtual currency users further to uncover more potential tax evasion cases.

As the largest exchange in the US, the request from the IRS would see the full transaction history of millions of Coinbase’s customers handed over. However, the bitcoin exchange’s head legal counsel, Juan Suarez, stated on November