Overview

• The Supreme Court declined on June 30 to review James Harper’s challenge to the IRS’s 2016 John Doe summons demanding Coinbase transaction records.
• Lower courts in New Hampshire had repeatedly dismissed Harper’s suit, and a 2024 appeals court ruling left the challenge poised for its final chance at certiorari.
• The case’s core question was whether the third-party doctrine shields digital financial data under the Fourth Amendment.
• Industry players including Coinbase and X, alongside prominent think tanks, filed amicus briefs urging the justices to reconsider privacy protections for crypto users.
• Coinbase legal head Paul Grewal expressed disappointment with the decision and vowed to continue fighting government demands for user data.