Coinbase selling user’s data information to ICE: Report

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Reportedly Coinbase exchange is sharing geolocation data of users with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). 

Coinbase is a leading Crypto exchange in this crypto industry. Exchange is known to provide crypto services under a highly compliance-based ecosystem. Due to better & secured crypto services, the exchange is standing at 3rd rank, in terms of highest digital assets trade volume contributor. The exchange has a talented crypto & blockchain tech expert team, which keeps developing highly reliable & useful tools. Some US govt agencies use Coinbase’s blockchain tools to catch bad actors of the crypto industry.

According to reports, Jack Poulson, director of the watchdog group Tech Inquiry, obtained a contract document and confirmed that Coinbase exchange was selling the historical geo-tracking data” as well as their transaction history with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). 

The report also noted that there was a three-year contract between ICE & Coinbase to share data of customers. Due to this report of the crypto analytic platform, many Coinbase users started to criticize Coinbase exchange but a spokesman from Coinbase exchange responded to these allegations and confirmed that shared data with ICE was not sensitive & it was only publicly available data of users.

Spokesperson explained:

“All Coinbase Tracer features use data that is fully sourced from online, publicly available data, and do not include any personally-identifiable information for anyone, or any proprietary Coinbase user data.”

If we look at the contract details then surely it was a type of an act of selling the data of users but here we need to keep in mind that it was one of the many contracts that Coinbase has with many government agencies of the United States. 

As all of us know very well that Coinbase is known to provide services under compliance laws, so here these activities by the Coinbase exchange don’t fall under the unfair means of activity. And we should be thankful that every user’s public data & information are open to the government agencies because they want to bring better filter protocol to prohibit bad actors.

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