IRS Crypto Data Grab Unprotected by Privacy Doctrine, User Says

A cryptocurrency user told a court that he didn’t give up his right to shield his information from the IRS by giving it to a third party because the information offered an “intimate window” into his life.

James Harper’s suit alleges that the IRS violated his constitutional rights to privacy and due process when it demanded his records from Coinbase without notifying him and giving him a chance to be heard. The agency’s demand fell under tax code Section 7609(f), which states that the IRS may serve a John Doe summons for information on unnamed taxpayers if a court ...