Last Updated on July 3, 2022 by Bitfinsider
The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase came under fire last week when allegations that it had sold client data to the American government surfaced.
According to a contract obtained by monitoring watchdog group Tech Inquiry, Coinbase Tracer, the bitcoin exchange’s analytics division, has partnered with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide the latter with access to a range of data, including “past geo tracking data.”
Coinbase, however, clarified on Thursday: “We want to make this incredibly clear: Coinbase does not sell proprietary customer data.”
“Our Coinbase Tracer tools are designed to support compliance and help investigate financial crimes like money laundering and terrorist financing. Coinbase Tracer sources its information from public sources, and does not make use of Coinbase user data. Ever,” the exchanged added.
Although Coinbase specifically uses the word “proprietary” to characterize the data it is not selling, many users on Twitter do not trust that the company is not selling any client information to the American government.
In August of last year, ICE paid Coinbase a sum of $29000 for a single analytics software license, and the following month, it may have paid $1.36 million for another software.
This week, Tech Inquiry obtained the complete contract documentation through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Intercept was the first to report on the story on Wednesday.
The Coinbase website’s disclaimer reiterates what the business tweeted on Friday, stating: “Coinbase Tracer sources its information from public sources and does not make use of Coinbase user data.”
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptocurrency or stocks comes with a risk of financial loss.
