DeFi Education Fund (DEF), a leading crypto research and advocacy group, and crypto investment company Paradigm, recently filed a joint amicus brief to support James Harper’s lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The amicus brief, submitted to the Supreme Court, seeks to reverse the district court’s decision in the James Harper lawsuit, highlighting the potential negative impact of dismissing his complaint on the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology. Furthermore, Paradigm emphasizes the importance of privacy in blockchain transactions.
“The district court erred in concluding that there is no expectation of privacy when a person transacts on a crypto exchange,” stated the official announcement from Paradigm.
James Harper’s lawsuit against the IRS originated from a 2017 court order that required Coinbase to provide the IRS with data on 14,355 users. This request was made through a “John Doe” summons, as the IRS was unsure about individual Coinbase customers failing to report income. However, based on the high frequency of crypto trades, the IRS assumed that many taxpayers did not report taxable crypto transactions. Harper filed a lawsuit, alleging that the IRS violated his rights by accessing his private financial records.
Paradigm has previously submitted similar amicus briefs in support of crypto firms like Binance, Coinbase, and Terra, in their cases against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). DeFi Education Fund (DEF) has also filed an amicus brief, urging the US court to consider the Fourth Amendment rights of cryptocurrency users and to take into account the fundamental differences between crypto technology and traditional finance.
The brief filed by DEF highlighted that the US government has collected extensive records, including names, social security numbers, addresses, and every cryptocurrency transaction made over a three-year period, totaling 8.9 million transactions.
Amanda Tuminelli, the chief legal officer of DEF, stated on Twitter that the court must recognize the core distinctions between crypto technology and traditional finance.
