Leading crypto exchange Kraken has been ordered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to hand over the data belonging to its customers’ to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US agency responsible for collecting US federal taxes. The data includes customer account details and transaction histories
The IRS has crypto investors in its crosshairs as it aims to find out if investors have not paid taxes on the gains that they have made on their investments in digital assets. As per the order issued earlier this week, Kraken will have to reveal the transaction history of customers who have engaged in transactions worth more than $20,000 within a calendar year
Along with transaction history, Kraken will also have to provide the IRS with names (real or pseudonyms), birthdates, taxpayer identification numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and ious other documents, as per the court order. However, the judge presiding over the case, Judge Joseph Spero, has also refused some of the demands made by the US agency.
More importantly, the IRS submitted a court petition shortly after Kraken settled its lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Northern District of California. The petition stated that the crypto exchange failed to comply with a summons that was issued in 2021 by the IRS, adding that it aims to investigate the tax obligations of users who were involved in crypto transactions between 2016 and 2020
It is crucial to note that, as per the orders from Judge Spero, the crypto exchange will have to release blockchain addresses and transaction hashes, which are already included in the transaction data available for sharing. Moreover, Kraken might also have to release raw data to the US tax agency
However, the judge did decline the IRS’ demands to gain access to the customers’ employment information and source of wealth from Kraken. Several other requests were also outright denied by the IRS
Several agencies in the United States have been raining down the regulatory hammer on the crypto industry, including the SEC, the CFTC, and the IRS. As reported earlier by Bitnation, Kraken said that it would close down staking services in the US and would pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties, as a part of the court settlement with the SEC.
