On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case of James Harper v. Michael Faulkender, affirming the IRS's ability to access cryptocurrency transaction data from exchanges like Coinbase without a warrant.
The case involved Harper's challenge to the IRS's 2016 "John Doe" summons, which sought records of roughly 14,000 Coinbase users. Harper claimed this violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Coinbase and other organizations supported Harper, highlighting the importance of user privacy.
The Supreme Court's denial of the petition leaves the lower court's ruling in favor of the IRS unchanged. This decision highlights the ongoing debate regarding government authority versus individual privacy in the context of digital financial data.