A "John Doe" summons is an order that does not specifically identify the person but rather identifies a person or ascertainable group or class by their activities. With that, the IRS wanted to proceed with issuing the "John Doe" summons on Coinbase customers. Coinbase, Armstrong writes, has "worked to comply with all IRS guidance in our space, beginning with the March 2014 guidance on virtual currency." Armstrong says that he believes that "Coinbase and the IRS fundamentally want the same thing: for all U.S. users of virtual currency to pay their taxes." It's not simply about a subpoena, indicates Armstrong, pointing out that Coinbase has previously complied with tailored IRS subpoenas.

Source: Forbes January 15, 2017 01:45 UTC