The DeFi Education Fund (DEF), a group promoting cryptocurrency, has appealed to a U.S. court to reassess the Fourth Amendment’s stance on cryptocurrency users’ privacy rights. The appeal, made on October 20, supports James Harper’s case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to resist unrestricted government access to users’ transaction details on cryptocurrency platforms.
In 2017, Coinbase handed over data of 14,355 users to the IRS due to a court mandate. This event intensified the quest for enhanced digital privacy rights. DEF contended that, given the advancements in the digital era, the Fourth Amendment, which safeguards citizens from unwarranted government intrusions, should be updated.
Highlighting the Carpenter vs. United States case, DEF suggested that the Fourth Amendment should restrict the government from obtaining data from third-party platforms, such as Coinbase.
Moreover, DEF emphasized the transparency of cryptocurrency transactions on public ledgers, which allows linking real-world identities to pseudonymous addresses. Such exposure not only jeopardizes transactional information but also reveals users’ personal affiliations and patterns. DEF underlined that this deep level of access surpasses what traditional banking systems provide, implying a necessity for better regulation and privacy safeguards.
Get $200 Free Bitcoins every hour! No Deposit No Credit Card required. Sign Up