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The U.S. government urges the Supreme Court to dismiss Coinbase users' challenge against the IRS for obtaining crypto records

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, on May 30, the U.S. government submitted documents to the Supreme Court requesting to dismiss Coinbase user James Harper's appeal against the IRS's acquisition of his cryptocurrency transaction records. Attorney General D. John Sauer stated that under the Fourth Amendment, Harper does not have a right to privacy regarding the financial records stored on Coinbase, as this data was "voluntarily" shared with the exchange, and the IRS obtained it through lawful judicial procedures.The case stems from the IRS's cryptocurrency tax investigation in 2016, when the agency discovered that a large number of Coinbase users had not reported their crypto gains, subsequently obtaining a "John Doe" subpoena requiring the exchange to submit records of high-volume users. Harper filed a lawsuit claiming this constituted an unconstitutional search, but lower courts ruled that Coinbase records are commercial documents rather than personal private documents, and the IRS's actions were lawful.The government cited precedents such as United States v. Miller to emphasize that users have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding financial records held by third parties, and Coinbase's privacy policy clearly warns that information may be shared with law enforcement agencies.The Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to hear the case. If it declines, it will uphold the First Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in support of the IRS.

The Bank of Korea explores the coexistence mechanism of private stablecoins and central bank digital currency tokens to address the risk of capital outflow

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, South Korea's central bank vice governor Lee Jung-ryeol stated at the Seoul Blockchain Leaders Summit that they are considering issuing central bank deposit tokens on a public blockchain, in conjunction with private stablecoins, to build a digital currency system. This move aims to address the impact of large-scale outflows of stablecoins on monetary sovereignty and financial stability—by the first quarter of 2025, the scale of stablecoins transferred overseas by South Korean crypto exchanges reached $19.5 billion, accounting for nearly half of the total outflow of digital assets of $40.6 billion during the same period.Lee Jung-ryeol mentioned that the plan needs to balance regulation and innovation from a "national perspective," emphasizing the central bank's role as a monetary management institution. However, industry experts pointed out that a hybrid model may not effectively maintain monetary sovereignty, and the issue of cross-border flow of stablecoins needs to be addressed through sound fiscal policies. South Korean Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has proposed issuing a won stablecoin to reduce reliance on dollar-pegged assets.The Bank of Korea is also participating in the Agora multinational central bank settlement project, designing mechanisms to restrict the direct circulation of domestic deposit tokens overseas.
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