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On September 8, the IRS Criminal Investigation Department signed a $ 249,900 contract with a blockchain analytics firm to expand its crypto-tracking tools.
The contract provides limited information, but follows a general IRS trend that steps up its game when it comes to encryption.
The company behind the contract, Blockchain Analytics and Tax Software, is relatively unknown compared to familiar faces in analytics like Chainalysis. The company’s only previous government contract was only $ 9,800 with the United States Treasury for serving as an expert witness.
Just last week the IRS filed a request for a pilot program to monitor cryptocurrency transactions. An IRS staff member confirmed to Cointelegraph that this new contract is not a response to that request.
Blockchain Analytics and Tax Software did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment at press time.
The investigative capabilities of the IRS played a major role in a massive seizure of cryptocurrencies destined for terrorist networks last month.
Meanwhile, for more civilian purposes, this year’s tax forms in the United States will raise the question of whether a taxpayer used cryptocurrencies in 2020 to the fore.
