Chainalysis Government Solutions has taken the U.S. government to court over a $94.6 million crypto investigation contract awarded to rival TRM Labs. The twist is that the same agencies had previously awarded sole source crypto software deals to Chainalysis, but this time the company was left out of the contract process.

Chainalysis Challenges $94.6M TRM Labs Contract

The contract was awarded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to TRM Labs on July 2, 2026. It covers forensic software and support for Homeland Security Task Force investigations and is worth $94,655,840.

The contract, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, covers forensic software and support for Homeland Security Task Force investigations.

The public procurement record says the TRM software will support work involving crypto tracing, blockchain analysis, cybercrime and scam investigations, sextortion cases, asset recovery, open-source intelligence and AI-based case triage.

What Chainalysis Claims

Chainalysis filed the case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, challenging the decision by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to award the contract to TRM Labs without a regular bidding process.

The company argues that the decision was improper and that other qualified firms should have been given a chance to compete for the contract.

However, the full complaint is not yet public. In its July 31 order, the court allowed Chainalysis to file the complaint under seal and also granted its request for a protective order, with some changes

TRM Labs Joins the U.S. Government in Court

TRM Labs has entered the case as a defendant-intervenor, allowing the company to defend the contract it won.

The U.S. government and TRM Labs are now preparing their response to Chainalysis. According to the court schedule, Chainalysis filed its motion for judgment on the administrative record by August 11, while the government and TRM Labs are due to file their cross-motions and responses by August 21.

Chainalysis will then have until August 26 to respond, followed by replies from the government and TRM Labs on August 31.

The court has scheduled oral arguments for September 2 at 10 a.m. EDT at the National Courts Building in Washington, D.C.

Court Sets September Deadline

The government has asked the court to issue a decision by September 10, 2026. The court has also ordered the government to include the full administrative record in a single PDF document as part of the case record.

ICE Previously Used Chainalysis as a Sole-Source Provider

Government records show ICE had previously awarded Chainalysis several contracts without competition.

In September 2024, Chainalysis received a $3.44 million order for forensic software and services. ICE also awarded the company another order worth about $262,000 in May 2026 for Chainalysis Reactor licenses. Both were listed as sole-source awards.

For now, a ruling in favor of Chainalysis could force the government to review the award.

Read the article at Coinpedia