US Marshals partner with Coinbase to manage large cap crypto assets

The United States Marshals Service (USMS), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, has selected Coinbase Prime to handle its large cap cryptocurrency assets.

These assets, known as “Class 1” cryptocurrencies, are managed by the USMS to support federal law enforcement.

Coinbase Prime will provide both custody and advanced trading services for these assets. The selection followed a rigorous competitive process, which Coinbase won. In its press release, the crypto exchange stated:

“We have a longstanding history of supporting law enforcement agencies, dating back to the founding of our law enforcement program in 2014. Today, we work with every major U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement agency, as well as international agencies on every continent.”

By managing the USMS’s large cap digital assets, Coinbase said it wishes to continue expanding its “influence in the cryptoeconomy.”

Coinbase Prime’s role and achievements

Coinbase Prime is designed for institutions and large holders of digital assets. Since its launch nearly three years ago, it has become the preferred platform for many major financial entities.

It is the primary partner for most spot crypto ETFs and has safeguarded $330 billion in assets as of March 31, 2024. In Q1 2024 alone, Coinbase saw $256 billion in institutional trading volume.

The decision to partner with Coinbase Prime was driven by its ability to provide secure, scalable services. The USMS said it needed a reliable partner to manage and dispose of large quantities of popular cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase’s history of supporting law enforcement agencies and its institutional-grade services made it the top choice. This partnership allows the USMS to handle a diverse range of cryptocurrencies more effectively, in line with Department and USMS policies.

Details of the contract

Amendments to the original request for proposal (RFP) included procedural clarifications and timeline adjustments. Amendment 008 addressed a question about the legal structure of offerors during the proposal submission.

The Government clarified that offerors would be evaluated based on their original legal structure at the time of submission.

Amendments 007 and 006 detailed the time slots for oral presentations, which took place over several days in early April 2024. Offerors were required to contact the Contracting Officer to schedule their presentations.

Amendment 005 extended the proposal submission deadline and introduced an additional attachment with questions and answers from a Q&A timeline extension.

It also revised the pricing schedule format. The final proposal submission deadline was extended to April 3, 2024, with oral presentation schedules released on March 20, 2024.

Amendment 004 released an additional attachment with further questions and answers, clarifying the page count of another attachment. It extended the deadline for questions to March 13, 2024.

Amendment 003 corrected points of contact for the solicitation. Amendment 001 updated an offeror’s information page and clarified the agency identifier. The RFP number was specified as 15M50024QA4400002.

The USMS’s requirement for managing and disposing of large quantities of popular cryptocurrencies necessitated a partner with industry-leading storage and liquidation techniques.

The acquisition strategy approved a single award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle, with a five-year ordering period and a possible six-month extension.

Jai Hamid