Coinbase, a well-known US cryptocurrency exchange, reportsly discloses details about crypto users to the US Immigration and Customs Office (ICE).
According to the contract acquired by Tech Inquiry Director Jack Poulson, the information includes historical geographic tracking data and transaction history.
The data is especially useful for identifying crypto users and investors. In addition, the materials added to the contract will strengthen the authority of the US Department of Homeland Security. This is in addition to the previously known three-year agreement between crypto exchange and ICE.
However, Coinbase personnel denied that the data provided by the analytics tool was client information. The individual said,
“All Coinbase Tracer features use data that is fully sourced from data published online and do not contain any personally identifiable information or Coinbase-specific user data.”
The agreement was signed last September. The maximum was $ 1.37 million. In addition, this agreement is one of several other agreements signed between the exchange and US government agencies.
In August 2021, a $ 29,000 agreement was signed between Coinbase and ICE to license the analytical software to the organization. Coinbase has also sold a license for its proprietary software, Coinbase Tracer, to the United States Secret Service. Transactions with the Secret Service took place in April 2021 and May 2020. Both of these transactions were less than $ 50,000 each.
Formerly known as Coinbase Analytics, Coinbase Tracer has been criticized in the past. Coinbase acquired the software-creating exchange division from blockchain intelligence company Neutrino in 2019. Its management had previously worked with start-ups that sold spyware to several governments, including Saudi Arabia, known for human rights abuses.
Coinbase wasn’t the best year, and popular exchanges had to let go of most of their employees to reduce costs. They are one of many companies that have been severely affected by the current market downturn.
The exchange is also facing a proceeding to list failed UST (TerraUSD) tokens. The exchange reportedly did not perform sufficient due diligence on its properties before listing TerraUSD Stablecoin on the market.