U.S. court orders Kraken to hand over customer tax information

A United States District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to provide information about its customers to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The platform will be required to disclose names, dates of birth, physical addresses, phone numbers, and Tax ID of users who conducted transactions totaling more than $20,000 in a calendar year.

“The government has a legitimate objective in seeking the described materials,” said Judge Joseph Spero.

According to the documents, the IRS sought the information to identify individuals and adjust the tax liabilities of U.S. citizens who conducted transactions with crypto-laundered assets in 2016–2020.

The agency filed the corresponding petition in February 2023, when Kraken settled charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the time, the company emphasised that one of the platform’s guiding principles is ensuring user safety and privacy.

Earlier in April, Kraken filed suit against the IRS. The company rejected the regulator’s right to obtain customer information and called the agency’s demands an “unjustified treasure-hunt”.