In 2019, the IRS sent the famous three letters to US tax payers.
It's unclear how they got the data, but they did issue a summons to Coinbase for customers with transactions past a threshold (200tx, $20k total... tho that's still vague, $20k / tx? $20k withdrawn? $20k transacted total is very very little)
Well now in 2020
IRS sent another set of similar letters yesterday,
and it's still unclear how they got the data, but given that they
signed a deal with Coinbase Analytics in July, it's not hard to guess.
i assume the coinbase summons was one source of the taxpayer data in the earlier rounds of letters. another obvious source would be the ongoing 1099-Ks exchanges like coinbase, gemini, and kraken have been sending since 2017 or 2018. the article mentions subpoenas of non-USA exchanges like bitstamp---yikes! i wonder if that extends to the shiftier exchanges like binance, bitmex, kucoin, etc and to what extent they are complying.
i really wonder what kind of volume/activity would warrant an IRS subpoena, american exchange or otherwise. any idea? i assume exchanges are not obligated to tell you when it happens. this type of stuff sends shivers down my spine!
