Bitrefill CCO John Carvalho Lashes Out at Coinbase Over Blockchain Analysis Tools, Wants CEO Gone

The CCO of Bitrefill, John Carvalho, seems to be very angry about Coinbase’s decision to be involved in blockchain analysis. Everything started with the acquisition of Neutrino, a blockchain analytics company that has been involved in some controversies in the past. However, Brian Armstrong announced that they will not be working the most controversial Neutrino team members.

Because of this situation, several users started a campaign on Twitter called #DeleteCoinbase in order to protest against the decision to purchase Neutrino. There were also some users that reported that they couldn’t close their Coinbase accounts due to the fact that they had “dust” in their wallets.

The founders of Neutrino have been involved in another technological company called Hacking Team. This firm has been working with some governments such as Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, among others. Hacking Team offered services for these countries to control their citizens. There are some reports that mention that Hacking Team’s malware has been found on computers of activists and journalists as well.

On Twitter, Carvalho asked the community to keep deleting Twitter since he does not believe in Brian Armstrong’s words. Brian Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase.

Keep deleting @Coinbase. We learned a long time ago that Brian's words, like his ethics, are bullshit. #firebrian #deletecoinbase

— John Carvalho (@BitcoinErrorLog) March 5, 2019

Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the market that offers several services to its users, including a trading platform called Coinbase Pro. The company has usually been criticized for trying to be compliant with regulations in the United States and other countries rather than focusing on users’ privacy and data.

You're going to have to explain how Coinbase's hot pursuit of blockchain analysis at all costs is somehow in the interest of protecting civil liberties. Coinbase is not an extension of the government, is it? Coinbase is not part of investigative law enforcement, is it? Get real.

— John Carvalho (@BitcoinErrorLog) March 5, 2019

In another tweet, Carvalho asks Coinbase whether the company is an extension of the government or an investigative law enforcement agency. Carvalho has been defending what several users in the space believe, that exchanges shouldn’t use blockchain analysis tools.

Other Twitter users explained that KYC and AML policies demand exchanges to use analytical tools to finds laundered and stolen funds. Binance works with Chainalysis while Gemini has partnered with Nasdaq.

There are some exchanges that have been involved in money laundering activities and have helped criminals launder funds. One of the exchanges that have been accused of laundering money is formerly known as BTC-e.

There are several jurisdictions around the world that are requesting exchanges to be compliant with their local AML and KYC policies in order for them to keep operating. Japan is currently giving licenses for firms to operate in the country and New York has very restrictive rules for firms to start offering services in the state.

Thus, exchanges and platforms might not be able to avoid these regulations if they want to keep operating in the market. Nonetheless, Coinbase has searched for controversies by itself by purchasing a company that has been working against civil liberties in dictatorial countries.

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