SEC Wants a Subscription for Blockchain Data

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to buy a commercial off-the-shelf subscription source for blockchain ledger data to better observe the landscape, according to a recently released request for quote. 

The agency plans to utilize the subscription “to support its efforts to monitor risk, improve compliance and inform Commission policy with respect to digital assets.” Though the original solicitation was launched in late June, it was amended this week to update the deadline for responses from July 9 to July 11, among other changes. 

Blockchain, a record-keeping technology, validates information on a decentralized public ledger. It’s distributed globally through a network of devices that compute and store data. These computers represent specific “nodes” of the network and are equipped with their own files that legitimize transactions on the blockchain. Government spending on the new tech is anticipated to grow in the coming years. 

SEC wants its new subscription to source all blockchain data directly from those hosted nodes (as opposed to secondary sources) and to also include blockchain ledgers’ complete data from inception to present. 

“The subscription shall include all on-node data for each supplied blockchain, in its entirety,” the RFQ requirements said. “At a minimum, the subscription shall include the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains. In addition, the subscription shall include as many as possible of the following blockchains: Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Zcash, EOS, NEO, and XRP Ledger.”

The service should also support adding new blockchains, as technology inevitably evolves and new players enter the space. Further, the vendor that’s chosen must run their own node for each supported blockchain, SEC said. 

The contract will last for a year, followed by four 12-month option periods. Any business making an offer must have an active registration in the System for Award Management. Both a written technical quote and a separate price quote are required for the solicitation.