United States v. Gratkowski
United States court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States v. Gratkowski,[lower-alpha 1] 964 F.3d 307 (5th Cir. 2020), was a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit involving the Fourth Amendment implications of Bitcoin transactions.[1][2]
Quick Facts United States v. Gratkowski, Court ...
United States v. Gratkowski | |
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Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit |
Full case name | United States of America v. Richard Nikolai Gratkowski |
Docket nos. | 19-50492 |
Citation(s) | 964 F.3d 307 (5th Cir. 2020) |
Holding | |
Much like bank records, the privacy of Bitcoin transactions should be judged by the third party doctrine. | |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Carl E. Stewart, James L. Dennis, and Catharina Haynes |
Laws applied | |
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States Bank Secrecy Act Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (18 U.S. Code § 2252A) | |
Keywords | |
Fourth Amendment, Bitcoin, Coinbase, Child pornography, Right to privacy |
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The case centered around Richard Nikolai Gratkowski, who was charged with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of accessing websites with intent to view child pornography. The evidence against Gratkowski was obtained through a search warrant that was based on information gleaned from an analysis of Bitcoin transactions on the blockchain and customer data from the virtual currency exchange Coinbase.[3]
Gratkowski was the first time the question of blockchain data privacy rights came before a federal court.[4]