Cracking down on bitcoin?

[SC]

Really hope the IRS loses this one.

Court Forces Coinbase Bitcoin Exchange to Give User Data to IRS | Investopedia (http://www.investopedia.com/news/court-forces-coinbase-hand-over-user-data-irs/)

[Vidocq]

Not even a day later, Circle stops dealing in BTC. Something isn't right :( Not sure where I'm gonna go for BTC anymore, Circle had instant transfers, a USD wallet so you could store cash in it, AND they barely charged a 1% fee to send it to another wallet

[Bullrush]

Confused...So does this mean we can't use circle to send donations to sponsors. . When u go to send money it ask for bitcoin address. Can someone explain this....

[SC]

Confused...So does this mean we can't use circle to send donations to sponsors. . When u go to send money it ask for bitcoin address. Can someone explain this....

As best I can tell, if the IRS wins the users information would be released to the gubmit. I could see that potentially dissuading a domestic sponsor from using BTC.

[friend-o-mine]

I warn most especially our dealers and suppliers that they should be accepting bitcoin "NEVER INTO THEIR COINBASE WALLET" but always into one of the other wallets.

AAS Dealers really have no reason to use Coinbase at all if they are just using it to collect payments. If you are collecting over $2000 trust me that you will get an email from Coinbase with a bunch of questions like this one:

Hi,
We noticed your account has conducted a high volume of transactions with Coinbase. We appreciate you being an active Customer!
We are required to periodically review high volume accounts as part of being a Money Service Business. To assist in this process, please provide us with the following information within 7 days to avoid disruption of service to your account:
<b>- Please briefly describe the primary use case for your Coinbase account - Please describe the source of the bitcoin being deposited into your account that was not purchased through Coinbase - Please indicate the source of funds for your purchases of bitcoin - Please elaborate on the nature of your outgoing transfers and what service(s) they are related to</b>
Thank you for your understanding on this sensitive matter. If you have any trouble fulfilling this request you can reply directly to this email and we will be happy to assist you.
Respectfully,
Coinbase Compliance Team

See here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2w9mrd/nosy_nosy_coinbase/

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THe best solution for safety is to use COinbase (or Circle) to buy your bitcoins but then to immediately transfer them out into a different wallet. If you use Android I like Mycelium and I also like Multibit or CoPay. Learn about several alternatives here:

Choose your wallet - Bitcoin (https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet)

The point is that Coinbase has cooperated with the authorities before and also they have seized the accounts of people they accuse of engaging in "illegal activity"

KYC Dilemma: US Secret Service Seizes $13k from Coinbase Customer (https://news.bitcoin.com/us-secret-service-seizes-coinbase/)

https://steemit.com/steem/@kagetoki-1/how-to-keep-your-bitcoin-from-being-seized-by-the-feds

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In the final analysis Coinbase cannot be trusted. Use it as a place to buy bitcoin but do not store your money in their wallet long term. THere is no fee to transfer your money out of coinbase so no excuse to be an idiot and leave it in there. AAS Dealers are warned NEVER, EVER, EVER to process incoming payments into a coinbase wallet. Use one of the other services like Mycelium, Multibit or CoPay. They could freeze your wallet and seize your funds and because coinbase is tied to your checking account and ID they will serve you up on a silver platter to the authorities.

In addition it is wise to use a VPN to browse AAS forums and websites and also to track packages on USPS or other postal carriers. I like and recommend CYberGhost VPN which costs only $31 for the year. THey also offer a free android client (app)

THere are several free VPN providers but I dont trust them, They are certainly keeping logs and use your browsing history to sell to advertisers. Nothing is "free" after all.

And do not use Google Chrome, it is tracking everything you do. Use SlimJet, Brave or SRWare Iron browsers which are built on the same engine as Chrome but without all the tracking and and lack of privacy.

Use Wickr (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwig4JLAwOPQAhXD7SYKHWm9CPwQFggdMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wickr.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNE8Ay0vQixKCzfoSNW5uf-wj9TGjQ&sig2=DzK_BR_rbhOjMifiWNlrJw) to send secure IMs (If your source has an account with them).

Use a secure email like protonmail or tutanota to contact your source. Many sources will not even respond to you if you contact them from a non secure email account like gmail, yahoo, hotmail

[SC]

Thanks for that post! Great info.

[reedcusa]

Circle will not send to a wallet address anymore. Only a phone number or e-mail address.

[JohnDoe]

Circle will not send to a wallet address anymore. Only a phone number or e-mail address.

Yup! MaxMark and myself ran into some issues trying to do a Bitcoin transaction ....Circle has gone retarded....

[friend-o-mine]

You can no longer buy or sell bitcoin on "marketplace" with Circle.

They are a useless company now.