Chainalysis Sues ICE Over $94.66 Million Contract Awarded to Rival TRM Labs

Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analytics company, has filed a lawsuit against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over a $94.66 million sole-source contract awarded to rival TRM Labs.

The contract, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, is for forensic software and support services. Chainalysis alleges that ICE unfairly steered the contract to TRM Labs by changing its evaluation criteria between a request for information (RFI) and the final Statement of Need.

The RFI asked vendors about various capabilities, including an AI-based investigative platform and a large fraud-victim database. However, the final Statement of Need only focused on three areas: fraud, cybercrime, and sextortion, omitting many of the detailed requirements from the earlier RFI.

Chainalysis argues that ICE relied on criteria from the RFI in its evaluation, which were not disclosed to competing vendors. The company also claims that TRM Labs' capabilities were tailored to its existing products and business structure.