In recent days, the FUD has taken over social networks again, after the appearance of rumors that the MetaMask wallet could draw on our cryptocurrencies for the payment of taxes. ConsenSys, the company in charge of developing the wallet, has since denied this.

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Would MetaMask collect taxes on our cryptos?

A part of the community is still on edge since the launch of Ledger Recover, in particular by thinking, wrongly, that the company is able to recover the seed phrase stored in a hardware wallet. In this climate, it is the MetaMask wallet that has been in the news in recent days, because it is allegedly able to keep the cryptocurrencies stored there for the payment of taxes.

That idea, which is only “fear uncertainty and doubt(FUD)comes from a very concrete paragraph in the conditions of use of ConsenSys, the company in charge of the development of the application:

“Each party shall be responsible, as required by applicable law, for identifying and paying all taxes and other governmental fees and charges (together with penalties, interest and other additions thereto) imposed on such party. on or in connection with transactions and payments under this Agreement. All fees payable by you are exclusive of tax, unless otherwise stated. We reserve the right to withhold taxes if necessary. »

It is therefore from this extract that several people on social networks made a shortcut to conclude that ConsenSys had access to the cryptocurrencies of users of its products.

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What is it really?

Of course not, MetaMask is unable to do this. Despite everything, ConsenSys wanted to clarify the situation, confirming that MetaMask “does NOT collect taxes on crypto transactions“, and that said section “relates exclusively to products and paid plans offered by ConsenSys» :

📢 We are aware of tweets circulating with inaccurate information about ConsenSys’ terms of service.

Let’s clarify one thing upfront: MetaMask does NOT collect taxes on crypto transactions and we have not made any changes to our terms to do so.

This claim is false.

— ConsenSys (@ConsenSys) May 21, 2023

This clarification is further explained in the section from which the excerpt is taken. But as the turns of phrase in the general conditions of use are often made in such a way as to integrate a maximum of scenarios, ConsenSys thus clearly denied the FUD :

“The legal terminology can be complex, but it is essential to emphasize that this section does NOT apply to MetaMask or any other product that does not involve sales tax. We believe in transparency and accuracy when it comes to sharing information with our users. »

Even if it would be possible for ConsenSys to take such actions, a simple hardware wallet would circumvent the problem. Indeed, MetaMask is only an interface and its main danger, like other similar services, is that in the case of hot wallets, the private key is stored on the user’s machine, making it vulnerable to risk. of hacking.

If ConsenSys has already been criticized in the past, in particular by the fact that MetaMask retrieves the IP addresses of users connected to Infura nodeswhich obviously raises confidentiality issues, but the concerns discussed today are unfounded.

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Source: ConsenSys

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I timidly discovered the world of blockchain at the end of 2018 during my quest for financial freedom. Initially invested moderately, it was only two years later that I took the gamble of betting everything on the movement that was taking shape then. I then dedicate 2021 to training myself better to acquire more knowledge and seriousness. As I often like to say: I still have a billion things to learn. And what I do know, I want to share with you.

Vincent Mayor

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