DHS Looking Into Tracking Monero and Zcash Transactions

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is interested in acquiring technology solutions that can track newer cryptocurrencies, such as Zcash and Monero. From a report: According to a pre-solicitation document [PDF], the DHS wants to know if this is possible, before filing an official solicitation request later down the line. The DHS said that 'prior efforts have addressed Bitcoin analytics,' but now the agency and the law enforcement agencies under its supervision are looking into similar cryptocurrency analytics solutions that can be used to track so-called privacy coins -- cryptocurrencies that support anonymous transactions.

'A key feature underlying these newer blockchain platforms that is frequently emphasized is the capability for anonymity and privacy protection,' the DHS document said. 'While these features are desirable, there is similarly a compelling interest in tracing and understanding transactions and actions on the blockchain of an illegal nature. This proposal calls for solutions that enable law enforcement investigations to perform forensic analysis on blockchain transactions,' it added.

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