4 ms·

If your point is that it has a bank's level of scrutiny, then no it clearly does not stand. I mean isn't that the point of the government request? A bank's leve

If your point is that it has a bank's level of scrutiny, then no it clearly does not stand. I mean isn't that the point of the government request? A bank's level of scrutiny would mean the government could reasonably guess if you are holding out on taxes which is clearly not the case here. Does the IRS regularly subpoena Chase and BofA's customer records. No, because there is no need. Thanks to the CTRs, they can crunch the numbers and figure out if the amount you paid on your taxes is suspiciously low. Sure, it's a worthwhile cause. I wish them luck because Congress and the Courts have consistently torn down financial privacy over the last 30-40 years.

mhluongo 10y ago
To your point about SARs / CTRs- SARs at banks are usually triggered by cash deposits and withdrawals at a much lower level, and every bitcoin transaction is roughly equivalent to a cash transaction. Thus "bank-level scrutiny". > I mean isn't that the point of the government request? It's not clear to me whether they actually need this at all, considering Coinbase's existing reporting requirements. It's common enough from other branches to make overreaching requests to set a precedent (eg the DoJ / Apple iPhone) so I wouldn't just assume it's business as usual.
- ryanackley 10y ago
  You're fixated on SARs being comparable to CTRs and they just aren't. First, a SAR is only for suspicious activity and it's relatively uncommon, a CTR is not optional and very common. If a SAR is being filled out, it's after trying to get in touch with the person to better understand their business and why various transactions look suspicious. It's not undertaken lightly. It's not a routine filing whereas CTR's are.
  - wheelerwj 10y ago
    > SAR is only for suspicious activity and it's relatively uncommon lol, just. stop. you obviously have no experience with this type of regulation (or at least you better hopeyou don't).

mhluongo 10y ago

To your point about SARs / CTRs- SARs at banks are usually triggered by cash deposits and withdrawals at a much lower level, and every bitcoin transaction is roughly equivalent to a cash transaction. Thus "bank-level scrutiny". > I mean isn't that the point of the government request? It's not clear to me whether they actually need this at all, considering Coinbase's existing reporting requirements. It's common enough from other branches to make overreaching requests to set a precedent (eg the DoJ / Apple iPhone) so I wouldn't just assume it's business as usual.

ryanackley 10y ago
You're fixated on SARs being comparable to CTRs and they just aren't. First, a SAR is only for suspicious activity and it's relatively uncommon, a CTR is not optional and very common. If a SAR is being filled out, it's after trying to get in touch with the person to better understand their business and why various transactions look suspicious. It's not undertaken lightly. It's not a routine filing whereas CTR's are.
- wheelerwj 10y ago
  > SAR is only for suspicious activity and it's relatively uncommon lol, just. stop. you obviously have no experience with this type of regulation (or at least you better hopeyou don't).