Is MetaMask withholding customers’ crypto for taxes?

The company informed its Twitter followers that the gossip is based on "inaccurate and unverified information" resulting from a misinterpretation of MetaMask's terms of service.

The company clarified that the tax terms section applies only to the offered products and paid plans, but does not apply to cryptocurrency transactions on the network.

"From a legal point of view, it may not be entirely clear terms for perception, however, it should be noted that the point in the tax section does not directly apply to MetaMask or any other products that do not involve sales commissions."

"On all transactions involving cryptocurrencies, MetaMask does not levy taxes, and in addition, no updates have been made to our terms regarding cryptocurrencies."

Some crypto community members complained about cheating after users commented on the section of the company's terms of service, which states that MetaMask "reserves the right to withhold taxes if necessary", believing that this clause also applies to taxes to user income.

The unconfirmed information quickly became a top discussion. It appeared on the front page of r/cryptocurrency on Reddit, and by the time the article was published, more than 500 upvotes and about 600 comments had already been received.

A number of relevant Twitter accounts with huge followings immediately picked up the riot by adding a screenshot with the section highlighted. Some of them claimed that MetaMask is now following the same path as Ledger, which stunned users with a controversial update not so long ago.

However, not everyone went along, and some representatives of the crypto community quickly denied such statements. “Everyone is blindly tweeting about the tax clause of the MetaMask terms in the TOS but not really reading it,” Twitter user printer_brrr wrote in a comment.

The company added that "when you buy a product from them, they can withhold taxes, including sales tax. Just like Amazon does when you buy from them."