Recognizing the technology’s huge potential in several of its applications, a branch of the United States (US) Army is currently pre-soliciting experts in the blockchain and in cryptocurrencies, in the form of crypto investigation service providers.
The branch in question is the United States Army Contracting Command, or ACC, of New Jersey. The intention of the pre-solicitation (posted a few weeks ago but coming to the public eye in recent hours) is to find people with enough talent and expertise to trace Bitcoin (BTC) in real-time.
Being a pre-solicitation, the notice and a hypothetical response by the ACC does not mean that there will be a contract awarded immediately.
Analytics Solutions to Fight Crypto Crime
The ACC itself explained that the US Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) is currently looking to implement and take advantage of analytics solutions to help in the fight against crime, for investigations and other endeavors.
According to the notice, the contractor needs to offer a cloud-based online service that does not depend on software or hardware solutions, but one that has the capability to help law enforcement agencies and other institutions spot and capture bad actors that may be engaging into illicit activities regarding cryptocurrencies.
Some of the illegal acts that are related to crypto assets, and that the US Army Contracting Command of New Jersey is looking for help to take care of are: money laundering, fraud, scams, and extortion, among others.
Analyzing Several Digital Assets
The person or entity needs to provide the source of the crypto transactions; this includes having the ability to analyze several digital assets in depth, including but not limited to Bitcoin. As it turns out, a few specific altcoins are directly sought by cybercriminals and hackers because their ecosystems may be more vulnerable.
The contractor must also provide what the ACC calls “real-time Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency transaction tracing,” specifically service attribution and identification. It also needs to be capable of spotting transactions patterns that may not be evident by law enforcement, as well as identify any possible interactions with other actors.
The American Government and Its Involvement with the Blockchain
It is not the first time that the American government experiments with the blockchain in search of solutions for its everyday situations and problems. For instance, consider that in the fall of 2018, US government institutions had tripled their investment in the blockchain technology, most specifically, in blockchain intelligence companies.
Most of the blockchain intelligence deals made by the government last year were actually contracted to blockchain analytics company Chainalysis. Up to late 2018, the firm had signed pacts with the government that amounted to a total of $5.3 million.
Last month, the US Air Force was the one looking for blockchain help, signing agreements with Simba Chain, a provider of Smart Contracts, and with Constellation, a blockchain data management enterprise.
Notably, highly decorated musician and Bitcoin bull Akon stated that the value of fiat money, like the US dollar, will only be sustained by military might.
By Andres Chavez
