- Coinbase Trace plans to enable the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) with data regarding crypto users.
- Coinbase Tracer sources its information from public sources and does not utilize Coinbase user data, highlighted an exchange’s spokesperson.
- A Watchdog Group reported regarding this three-year contract with the US DHS.
Coinbase Tracer, which is the Exchange’s analytics program, is planning on providing the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) with data regarding crypto users, comprising historical geo-tracking data and transaction history. Tech Inquiry, a watchdog group, obtained a contract that highlighted this.
Furthermore, the contract adds details as to what was earlier known about the three-year deal between ICE and the cryptocurrency exchange. The US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is basically a law enforcement division of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to Natasha LaBranche, a Coinbase spokesperson who highlighted about the ICE Contract and data involved to The Intercept. She opined that Coinbase Tracer sources its information from public sources and do not utilize Coinbase user data.
The deal that was signed in September for a maximum of $1.37 Million is among the various contracts that happened between the crypto exchange and the US Government agencies. Coinbase signed a more minor contract with ICE in August last year with $29,000 to provide the agency with licenses for its analytics software.
Whereas in April 2021 and May 2020, the crypto exchange sold licenses, both initially under $50,000, from Coinbase Tracer to the US Secret Service.
Coinbase Tracer enables the clients, both in government and the private sector, to keep a track of transactions via the blockchain, which is a distributed public ledger of transactions essential in the utilization of cryptocurrencies.
It was formerly addressed as Coinbase Analytics and has witnessed some issues earlier. The Exchange’s arm is responsible for the software development that emerged from the 2019 acquisition of Neutrino, a blockchain intelligence firm by Coinbase. Neutrino’s executive team earlier worked with a startup that sold spyware to various governments, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, etc.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/07/01/is-coinbase-selling-geolocation-information-to-the-us-ice/