Coinbase Responds to Reports of Selling Customer Geo Tracking Data to US Government – 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 watchdog group Tech Inquiry, Coinbase Tracer, the cryptocurrency exchange’s analytics division, has partnered with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide the government with access to a range of data, including “historical geo tracking data.”
On Thursday, Coinbase offered this clarification on Twitter: “We want to make this incredibly clear: Coinbase does not sell proprietary customer data.” “Our Coinbase Tracer tools are intended to enhance compliance and assist in the investigation of financial crimes like money laundering and supporting terrorism. Coinbase Tracer does not use user data from Coinbase and instead obtains its data from open sources,” the tweeting exchange continued.
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, Coinbase paid $29,000 to ICE for a single analytics software license, and the following month, it may have spent $1.36 million on more software.
Coinbase Responds to Reports of Selling Customer Geo Tracking Data to US Government – This week, Tech Inquiry obtained the complete contract documentation through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Intercept reported the story at first on Wednesday. The company’s Friday tweet that “Coinbase Tracer sources its information from public sources and does not make use of Coinbase customer data” is repeated in the disclaimer on the Coinbase website.
