This is an interesting court filing on behalf of a Bitcoin exchange, and a harbinger of potential regulatory clashes as governments catch up to changing financial technologies.
Here, the IRS's vague guidance regarding the treatment and disposition of virtual currencies has resulted in a legal dispute as the respondent seeks to broadly protect customer data. The assumption that licensed virtual currency platforms in the United States and EU seek to promote money laundering and financial crimes within their platforms is erroneous. A&M's recent work with similar clients proves quite the opposite.
Legitimate virtual currency exchanges possess a quantifiable business stake in maintaining transparency, vetting their customers and conforming to applicable regulations.
Aside from BTC-e, digital currency companies have been manifestly cooperative with law enforcement. Since October 2015, the non-profit Blockchain Alliance has served as a public-private forum and clearinghouse for information and education essential to ensuring that law enforcement has the tools and expertise necessary to efficiently enforce the law on these new networks.
https://coincenter.org/entry/coin-center-amicus-brief-in-us-v-coinbase
