The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is offering a $625,000 reward to any individual capable of cracking untraceable privacy cryptocurrencies such as Monero (XMR) and tracing transactions on the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Last week, the IRS issued the proposal with a due date of Sept. 16 for an acceptable working prototype. If accepted, applicants will receive a payment of $500,000 as part of an ongoing grant.
Following the initial payment, applicants will then have an eight-month window to further develop a fleshed-out prototype. At the end of the eight-month period, the IRS will grant the remaining $125,000.
IRS needs new tools to trace criminal organizations
The announcement read, “IRS-CI is seeking a solution with one or more contractors to provide innovative solutions for tracing and attribution of privacy coins, such as expert tools, data, source code, algorithms, and software development services.”
The grant is designed to assist the IRS’ criminal investigation unit, where special agents trace transactions, such as identifying transaction dates and times, amounts transferred, and wallets.
