The gap between bitcoin and fiat currency is gradually reducing. The realization of such a change is brought about by recent reports from a couple of people on social media channels stating that their bitcoin transactions are being tracked by a leading Bitcoin exchange and wallet platform – Coinbase.
Coinbase is not new to controversies. The company has been receiving lots of ‘bad karma’ on Reddit for a while now. While the company seems to be doing all it takes to comply with the existing and non-existent regulations for digital currency platforms, Bitcoin community finds the very principle behind bitcoin’s creation compromised.
coinbase, bitbet
Few users on Reddit have complained about Coinbase sending them a notice, warning them about the risk of their account being closed by the platform for allegedly transferring bitcoin from their Coinbase wallet to other platforms, including gambling sites. The allegations are also voiced by Bitbet.us on the same platform. Surprisingly, the reaction of the Reddit community has been moderate towards these allegations, with few commenters mentioning that they have known it all along.
At the same time, the post received few suggestions on circumventing Coinbase’s policies. A couple of suggestions included transferring bitcoin to another wallet before depositing it on any of the gambling platforms and the use of tumbling/mixing services.
Don’t Blame Coinbase, Blame the Government
In another post on the same subreddit, Bruce Fenton shares the other side of the story by mentioning that Bitcoin companies like Coinbase and Circle are not the ones to be blamed for imposing such measures. He reasons that the main flaw lies with the regulations that require these companies to do so (track transactions) in order to continue their operations without government’s intervention.
coinbase
Bruce in his statement shifts the blame from Bitcoin companies like Coinbase to the governments, regulatory bodies and Bitcoin industry groups that are asking for more regulations.
The allegations of Coinbase tracking customer wallets is not a new one, there have been numerous complaints about the platform blocking their accounts and even informing law enforcement authorities. However, these issues are here to stay irrespective of the platform one uses and may get even worse as the adoption of digital currency increases.