The government has not alleged any wrongdoing on the part of Coinbase and its petition is predicated on sweeping statements that taxpayers may use virtual currency to evade taxes. Coinbase has responded to the US government 's civil petition filing on Monday in federal court requesting all US customers ' records over a five - year period by stating " we are extremely concerned with the indiscriminate breadth " of the request . The government claims that taxpayers may use virtual currency to pay taxes which was the reasoning behind the John Doe summons . To protect customers ' legal rights , the bitcoin exchange says it will fight the petition in court .
Coinbase has responded to the US government 's civil petition filing on Monday in federal court requesting all US customers ' records over a five - year period by stating " we are extremely concerned with the indiscriminate breadth " of the request . The government claims that taxpayers may use virtual currency to pay taxes which was the reasoning behind the John Doe summons . To protect customers ' legal rights , the bitcoin exchange says it will fight the petition in court .