Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has signed an agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) branch of the U.S. Homeland Security Department in an undisclosed use case for its blockchain analytics software.

Why should we care?
The $1.36M contract is the largest-ever federal government contract Coinbase has ever received. In August, ICE paid Coinbase $29,000 for “computer forensics software” for purposes that aren’t entirely clear. “This requirement is LAW ENFORCEMENT SENITIVE[sic], therefore minimal information will be provided publicly," a document explaining the project said. According to the Federal Procurement Data System, Coinbase’s most recent contract would be for “IT and telecom: business application / application development software as-a-service”. The contracting office was the Dallas office of “investigations and operations support.” Coinbase has been increasingly partnering with government departments. Last year, it was reported that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intended to buy licenses from Coinbase for an analytics platform called Coinbase Analytics. In other Coinbase news, the cryptocurrency company backed off from its intent to launch crypto lending product Coinbase Lend after the company’s CEO Brian Armstrong suggested the Securities and Exchange Commission threatened to sue the company if it proceeded with the launch of the product.