A cryptocurrency exchange called Coinbase that deals with bitcoin and other digital currencies has been ordered by the IRS to start forking over information about some of its customers.
According to Business Insider, a U.S. district court ruled that Coinbase needs to supply the personal information of 14,355 of its customers to the IRS as the agency tries to combat tax evasion.
The customers affected by the order conducted Coinbase transactions of more than $20,000 between 2013 and 2015, which includes 8.9 million transactions.
In a blog post, Coinbase framed the order as a victory for the company because the IRS originally asked for the information of all its customers from the same time period.
"We are pleased to say Coinbase won a partial victory in court today," Coinbase director of communications David Farmer wrote.
"First, the government vastly narrowed the scope of its summons. The government's own lawyers noted at the hearing that the IRS is not accustomed to having to fight for records in this context, and most companies just turn records over without going to court. Thanks to Coinbase's efforts, more than 480,000 customers' records were preserved from disclosure. This is a 97% reduction in the number of customers impacted by this summons.
"Second, the quantity of data we must produce for the approximately 14,000 customers who remain in scope has been significantly reduced. In narrowing the scope of the summons, we are pleased that the Court acknowledged the privacy rights at stake in this matter."
The value of one bitcoin has skyrocketed this year, hitting a high of $11,413.0303 on Wednesday before falling below $11,000 later in the day. Ethereum, another digital currency traded on the Coinbase platform, is priced at more than $450.
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