Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has reported feeling what he describes as borderline harassment by the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as they seek his cooperation in solving blockchain-related crimes.
In a post on X from March 6, ZachXBT expressed his willingness to assist victims and provide necessary information to law enforcement. However, he feels that the intensity of the IRS’s efforts has crossed his personal boundaries. He detailed instances where agents have visited old addresses, used private data to contact personal emails, and sent physical mail, despite his public contact methods being readily available.
ZachXBT shared an image of an email from an IRS special agent who praised his expertise in blockchain tracing and sought his help to make a significant impact on blockchain crime. The email acknowledged the agent’s limited skills in this specialized field.
The investigator criticized the IRS’s multiple methods of contact as showing a “blatant disregard for any professionalism.” His frustration comes in the wake of declining to assist holders of the Complex (SIMPLE) memecoin, which he refuses to support because he prioritizes helping genuine victims over those who gamble on risky digital assets.
Meanwhile, the IRS has been increasingly engaging with notable individuals and companies in the blockchain analysis sector. In May 2023, Cointelegraph reported that IRS-CI Chief Jim Lee highlighted the critical role of their partnership with the analytics firm Chainalysis, stating that tackling crypto-related crimes would be nearly “impossible” without such collaborations. At that time, Lee noted that the IRS-CI had seized an estimated $10 billion in cryptocurrency since it started investigating crimes involving digital assets.
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