Chainalysis sues U.S. over $94.6M ICE contract to TRM

Chainalysis Government Solutions filed a challenge on July 27 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, contesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s sole-source award of about $94.6 million to TRM Labs. The one-year contract runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, to supply forensic blockchain software and support services for Homeland Security Task Force investigations.

In its court filing, Chainalysis alleged ICE’s decision was ‘arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable’ and said it submitted a capability statement in response to ICE’s notice of intent to obtain services from TRM. The complaint remains under seal because it contains Chainalysis’s confidential and proprietary information; the court granted permission to keep the filing sealed on July 31. TRM Labs moved to intervene on July 28.

The public docket sets responses from the government and TRM for Friday and schedules oral argument for Sept. 2; the government has asked for a decision by Sept. 10. The filings available publicly do not describe Chainalysis’s specific legal arguments or the relief it seeks.

Both Chainalysis and TRM Labs develop blockchain analytics platforms that government agencies use to trace cryptocurrency transactions and support investigations of financial crime and other illicit activity. The award notice identifies the contract as a sole-source procurement, meaning it was granted without a competitive bidding process.

TRM Labs declined to comment. Chainalysis and ICE did not respond to requests for comment before publication. The case will proceed through the Court of Federal Claims on the schedule set by the court.