Coinbase Battles IRS in Supreme Court — While Letting Users Borrow $1M Against Bitcoin

⚖️ Coinbase Takes On the IRS — In the Supreme Court

In a case with massive implications for crypto privacy, Coinbase filed a Supreme Court brief pushing back against a sweeping IRS request for user data — a fight that began way back in 2016.

“User anonymity vanishes… when the government links a wallet to a real-world identity,”
— Coinbase legal team

The case centers on the “third-party doctrine,” an old legal concept that says you forfeit privacy when you share info with institutions like banks (or crypto exchanges). The IRS used it to justify its John Doe summons targeting 14,000+ Coinbase users.

Coinbase says: That logic doesn’t fly in a blockchain world.

This isn’t just about one summons — it’s about setting precedent for how much the U.S. government can surveil crypto holders without a warrant.

💰 Bitcoin-Backed Loans: From $100K to $1M

While defending privacy in Washington, Coinbase is also scaling DeFi access. The exchange just raised the borrowing cap on its Bitcoin-backed loan program from $100,000 to $1 million per user.

Here’s how it works:

• 🔁 You wrap BTC into cbBTC (Coinbase's tokenized version)
• 🔒 Deposit it as collateral on Ethereum or Base
• 💵 Borrow USDC, starting at 5% interest
• 🧑‍💻 All via smart contracts, no credit checks required

More than 4,200 wallets have already borrowed $130M+, secured by $227M in collateral. And now? Bigger whales can play.

Available across the U.S. — except for New York, of course.

🤝 Coinbase’s Strategy: Defend the Mission, Build the Rails

Coinbase isn’t just surviving the regulatory storm — it’s shaping the rules while building a permissionless alternative in parallel:

• 👊 In court: defending privacy and civil liberties
• 🔗 On-chain: offering non-custodial liquidity for Bitcoin holders
• 💼 In policy: creating real-world financial tools built on Web3

It’s the Web2-to-Web3 transition playbook — written in code and constitutional briefs.

🧠 TL;DR: Coinbase Is Fighting on Two Fronts — and Winning

• 📣 Arguing against mass data grabs by the IRS in the Supreme Court
• 💸 Expanding Bitcoin-backed loans to $1 million per user
• 🧱 Building trustless finance while defending crypto rights in D.C.

The crypto exchange is acting more like a digital finance insurgent than a centralized platform. And that might be exactly what the industry needs.