Bitcoin exchange helps the Feds

 KickAssTorrents was created in 2009 and has since been regarded as one of the top torrenting domains along with the infamous PirateBay. The founder, Artem Vaulin, has been arrested in Ukraine after years of investigation. An interesting component of this story is the compliance of companies including Facebook, Linkedin, and Coinbase. 

Facebook and Apple helped with the investigation showing that Vaulin and others had logged on to social media to promote the site. The same IP address used with the Facebook was the same used in Itunes transactions for illegal distribution.
 

An interesting part of the story, which may concern Bitcoin supporters, is the fact that the San Francisco-based exchange, Coinbase, helped federal agents. In 2012, KAT started accepting Bitcoin donations, and U.S. officials say records received from Coinbase revealed the Bitcoin donation address was maintained by the exchanges services. The Coinbase account was registered to Artem Vaulin located in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reports say that $72,767 USD in bitcoin had entered the owner’s donation wallet.

KAT was one of the most popular torrent sites getting millions of users every day. There seems to be enough evidence against to prosecute Vaulin and keep the site down permanently. Most users of these sites are probably safe but there is definitely evidence that could be used against them.