A federal court in the northern district of California has authorised the US Internal Revenue Service to obtain details of the users of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase for the three years 2013 to 2015.
The IRS issued a broad order, what is known as a "John Doe" summons, to the exchange on 17 November.
According to the summons, the IRS has sought the details of all US taxpayers who conducted transactions through Coinbase in a convertible digital currency.
US magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in her order found that there was reasonable basis for believing that virtual currency users may have failed to comply with federal tax laws.
{loadposition sam08}The court clarified that there was no allegation that Coinbase had engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with its virtual currency exchange business.
The John Doe summons directs Coinbase to produce records identifying US taxpayers who have used its services, along with other documents relating to their virtual currency transactions.