Supreme Court asked to Reject Coinbase User’s Crypto Case
The US government has advised the Supreme Court against hearing a Coinbase user's challenge to the IRS's request for his crypto transaction records. The Solicitor General argued that the user, James Harper, lacks Fourth Amendment protections for financial records shared with Coinbase. The IRS's actions stem from a 2016 investigation into tax underreporting on cryptocurrency gains, leading to a "John Doe" summons for Coinbase to provide records of high-volume customers. Lower courts ruled that Coinbase's records are business documents, not private papers, and upheld the IRS's legal authority. The government cited Supreme Court precedents supporting its position and noted Coinbase's privacy policy allows sharing information with law enforcement. The Supreme Court has yet to decide on the case. Separately, Coinbase disclosed a data breach affecting about 1% of its users, resulting in lawsuits alleging inadequate security measures.
