Posted: July 25, 2023, 3:19 p.m. EDT
7/25/2023 - Amendment #3: We appreciate all submissions to the IRS Digital Asset Marketplace Analysis Request for Information. At this time, we have finished scheduling one-on-one meetings with companies to discuss their submission. Please monitor GSA and SAM.gov for future opportunities related to digital assets.
7/14/2023 - Amendment #2: The scheduling for one-on-one meeting invitations will be sent during the week of July 17-21, 2023.
6/23/2023 - Amendment #1: Questions and Answers document is posted.
DIGITAL ASSET MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES
Sources Sought THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) IS RELEASED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10, MARKET RESEARCH.
This RFI/Sources Sought is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as either a solicitation or the obligation on the part of Government. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts or quotations. This notice is for market research purposes only.
No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.
Respondents will NOT be notified of the results of the analysis. All data received in response to this Sources Sought synopsis that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with all applicable Government regulations. All documentation shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned.
BACKGROUND :
Digital assets (DA) are digital representations of value that use cryptography to secure transactions that are digitally recorded using distributed ledger technology on a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain1. Depending on the particular digital asset, individual units of a digital asset may be referred to as coins or tokens. Some digital assets are referred to as virtual currency or as cryptocurrency. Virtual currency is defined for Federal income tax purposes as a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value other than the U.S. dollar or a foreign currency (fiat currency)2. Digital assets have grown in popularity in recent years as both a payment method and an investment or trading asset.
The IRS Enterprise Digital Asset Initiative Project Office (DAIPO) is seeking innovative solutions that leverage available information to assist in its efforts to provide America's taxpayers with top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and to enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all. DAIPO is specifically seeking to improve our use of data and technology to identify and address noncompliance.
We are primarily interested in solutions which can provide efficiencies to aid in compliance efforts to include, but not limited to, identifying digital asset transactions and transaction patterns, bulk data analysis, computing tax consequences of digital asset activity and assessing and analyzing digital asset transactions.
The IRS seeks to enhance an internal tool, (used by our Large Business & International Division) for improved digital asset pricing data. Currently, daily average for pricing from various public sources (CoinMarketCap, investing.com, etc) is utilized. Request information on providers (vendors) for digital asset pricing data (hourly, minute, second).
The IRS seeks assistance with the processing of large scale and/or bulk digital asset transactional data from DA platforms, and/or other sources (e.g., peer-to-peer), for the purposes of bulk data analysis, risk scoring and/or other blockchain analytics.
The IRS seeks digital asset gain/loss computation solutions on large data sets of DA transactions that will allow for the IRS to be able to efficiently scale and calculate gains and/or losses.
The IRS seeks DA custody and management solutions that provide secure, seamless, and automated processes to support asset seizure or recovery.
Footnotes:
1 Section 80603 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-58, 135 Stat. 429, 1339 (2021)
2 Notice 2014-21, 2014-16 I.R.B. 938 (April 14, 2014)
SUBMISSION INFORMATION:
DAIPO respectfully requests input from industry partners and other parties regarding the following inquiries/topics:
I. Technical Capabilities - Responses may not exceed five (5) pages, excluding the cover page. Each response should include the following information:
- Company Name;
- Company Address;
- Company Point of Contact, Phone and Email address;
- Current Contract Number and Task Area(s) appropriate for this notice; including the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code.
- Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.)
- Contract holder's capability statement addressing organizational and staff experience and expertise.
- Provide summary background on any existing innovative solutions you have deployed in government or industry addressing this or a similar type of requirement.
- Since digital assets evolve at a very rapid pace, what is your process for identifying, assessing, and integrating new practices, technology and other business and technical advances in the digital asset area.
- Provide recommendations regarding our primary areas of focus and provide recommendations on process improvements.
- Provide any overarching recommended approaches for solutions in this space which we may not be aware of.
- For example, what workstreams has IRS not considered?
- What lines of effort does IRS need to consider in this environment?
- How would you recommend the government leverage Open Source Data for digital asset investigations and examinations?
- How would you recommend the government leverage Blockchain Tracing?
- How would you recommend the government leverage Asset Custody aspects (research the securing of digital assets)?
- How would you recommend the government leverage Basis Computation solutions for digital assets, including leveraging of API data to accurately value digital asset transactions (e.g., support basis computation)?
- How would you recommend the government leverage Bulk Data Analytical Tools for digital assets?
- Please explain specifics around the training for your product(s).
- For example, is training material/courses and instruction included with your product(s).
- What are the delivery options for training?
- Provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for contract costs to support this initiative.
- Provide a summary of the Return on Investment that the IRS could reasonably expect to attain with the adoption and implementation of solutions in this space.
- Do you currently have a contract with the Department of Treasury IRS (civil) and/or Criminal Investigations?
- If so, what digital asset (aka crypto or virtual currency) contracts do you have?
Based on the information provided in response to this RFI, the IRS may invite respondents to participate in a short virtual one on one meeting with a panel of subject matter experts to further explore the information provided. The IRS intends to notify respondents of their selection to participate in the virtual meetings no later than July 17, 2023, via email. The IRS plans to host the virtual one on one sessions between July 19 August 4, 2023.
Questions in response to this Sources Sought Notice may be submitted electronically on or before June 16, 2023, 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The Government reserves the right to respond to some, all or none of the questions submitted. Vendors that meet the requirements described in this announcement are invited to submit their capability statements/RFI responses.
The deadline for responses to this RFI is 5:00PM EDT, July 12, 2023. Responses should be forwarded via email to the IRS primary point of contact Sean Murphy at sean.murphy@irs.gov and the secondary point of contact Douglas Graham at douglas.m.graham@irs.gov
Responses shall not exceed 5 pages and shall not contain any brochures, advertising or any other type of extraneous, graphic literature or documents that have not been requested and are not relevant or essential in demonstrating the company's ability to provide the required services. Vendors may provide links to relevant websites, as appropriate.
Vendors shall reference RFI_DAIPO DIGITAL ASSET MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.
** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS. **
Thank you for your interest.
Contracting Office Address:
Internal Revenue Service
5000 Ellin Road
Lanham, MD 20706
Primary Point of Contact:
Sean Murphy
Sean.murphy@irs.gov
Secondary Point of Contact:
Douglas Graham
douglas.m.graham@irs.gov
RFI document is attached.
