Published on Sat Aug 22 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) by Jacob Cavazos

Selling technology to the Department of Defense is not like selling to a startup. The DoD buys through a structured procurement process that requires specific registrations, codes, and compliance steps. A blockchain company that wants to sell to the DoD has to navigate this process before it can bid on a single contract.

This article explains what defense-eligible means for a blockchain company. It covers SAM.gov registration, CAGE codes, NAICS codes, SBIR and STTR grants, and the public companies that have successfully sold blockchain-adjacent technology to the government.

Nothing here is secret. All of this information is publicly available on government websites. But it is scattered across multiple agencies and formats, and the process is confusing if you have never been through it.

What Defense-Eligible Actually Means

Defense-eligible does not have a single formal definition. It is a practical term that means a company has completed the prerequisites to do business with the DoD and other federal agencies.

At minimum, defense-eligible means the company is registered in SAM.gov, has a CAGE code, has identified its NAICS codes, and is not on any exclusion list. Beyond that, it may mean the company has specific certifications, security clearances, or past performance records.

A company can be defense-eligible without having ever won a DoD contract. Eligibility is about being qualified to bid. Winning is a separate matter.

For blockchain companies specifically, defense-eligibility is the entry ticket. Without it, you cannot respond to a Request for Information, bid on a contract, or receive an SBIR grant. You are invisible to the procurement system.

SAM.gov Registration

SAM.gov is the System for Award Management. It is the central database the federal government uses to track entities that do business with it. If you want to sell anything to the federal government, you must be registered in SAM.gov. There are no exceptions.

Registration is free. You go to sam.gov, create an entity registration, and provide information about your business. This includes your legal business name, physical address, taxpayer identification number (EIN), structure (LLC, C-corp, etc.), and the names of your officers.

You also have to complete a representations and certifications section. This is a set of yes/no questions about your compliance with various federal regulations. You certify that you are not debarred from doing business with the federal government, that you do not have unpaid federal tax liabilities, and that you comply with various labor and environmental laws.

SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually — for a step-by-step walkthrough, see SAM.gov Registration for Blockchain Companies. If you let it lapse, you become ineligible for new contracts and your existing contracts can be affected. Many companies lose eligibility not because they fail to register but because they forget to renew.

The registration process can take several weeks. The government has to validate your entity information, which involves matching your EIN against IRS records and your business address against official records. If there are discrepancies, the process stalls.

For a blockchain company, the main challenge in SAM.gov registration is often the business structure question. Many blockchain companies are structured as LLCs or have complex ownership structures involving entities in multiple jurisdictions. The SAM.gov registration requires a clear, simple ownership structure. If your structure is complex, you may need to simplify it or provide extensive documentation.

CAGE Codes

A CAGE code is a five-character identifier assigned by the Defense Logistics Agency. CAGE stands for Commercial and Government Entity. Every entity registered in SAM.gov receives a CAGE code as part of the registration process.

The CAGE code is used across the federal government to identify your company. It appears on contracts, purchase orders, and payment records. It is how the government knows that a payment is going to the right entity.

For US-based companies, the CAGE code is assigned automatically during SAM.gov registration. You do not apply for it separately. Once your SAM.gov registration is approved, your CAGE code is generated and assigned.

For non-US companies, there is a separate process. NATO CAGE codes (NCAGE) are assigned for foreign entities. The process is similar but goes through the NATO codification system in the entity’s home country.

The CAGE code is permanent. Once assigned, it does not change even if your company name or address changes. You update your information in SAM.gov, but the CAGE code stays the same.

Having a CAGE code does not mean you have any contracts. It means you are identifiable in the government’s system. It is a prerequisite, not an achievement.

NAICS Codes

NAICS stands for North American Industry Classification System. It is the standard used by federal agencies to classify businesses by industry. Every business selects one or more NAICS codes during SAM.gov registration.

The NAICS code matters because federal contracts are often set aside for specific industries or business sizes. A contract might be reserved for small businesses in NAICS code 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences, except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). If your company does not have that NAICS code, you cannot bid.

For blockchain companies, the relevant NAICS codes depend on what you do. Common choices include:

541511 Custom Computer Programming Services. This covers software development.

541512 Computer Systems Design Services. This covers systems architecture and integration.

511210 Software Publishers. This covers companies that publish software products.

541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. This covers R&D, which is relevant for SBIR and STTR grants.

541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services. This covers technical consulting.

You can select multiple NAICS codes. You should select all that accurately describe your business. The government uses these codes to find you when searching for contractors, so accuracy matters.

SBIR and STTR Grants

The Small Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer program are the primary ways the federal government funds early-stage technology development at small companies.

SBIR is a competitive grant program. Eleven federal agencies participate, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. Each agency publishes solicitation topics describing the technologies it is interested in funding. Companies submit proposals. Winners receive funding in three phases.

Phase I is a feasibility study. It typically lasts six months and provides around $50,000 to $250,000. The goal is to establish the technical feasibility of the proposed technology.

Phase II is the main R&D effort. It typically lasts two years and provides around $500,000 to $1.5 million. The goal is to develop a prototype.

Phase III is commercialization. There is no SBIR funding for Phase III. The company is expected to commercialize the technology with private funding or government contracts. The benefit of Phase III is that the company can receive sole-source contracts from the government for the technology developed in Phases I and II, without competitive bidding.

STTR is similar but requires collaboration between a small business and a research institution. The small business must partner with a university, federally funded R&D center, or other qualified research institution. The research institution must perform at least 30 percent of the work.

For blockchain companies, SBIR and STTR are significant because they provide non-dilutive funding. You do not give up equity. You receive a grant to develop your technology. If your technology is relevant to a DoD mission area, you can win an SBIR grant and use it to build your product while establishing a relationship with the agency.

DoD components that have funded blockchain-adjacent work through SBIR include the Air Force, the Navy, and the Defense Innovation Unit. Topics have included supply chain tracking, secure communications, and audit trail systems.

To be eligible for SBIR, your company must be a for-profit business with fewer than 500 employees, be more than 50 percent owned by US citizens or permanent residents, and be registered in SAM.gov with a CAGE code.

The Procurement Process

Once you are registered and eligible, the procurement process works like this.

The government publishes a solicitation. This can be a Request for Information (RFI), which is a market research tool. It can be a Request for Proposal (RFP), which is an actual contract solicitation. Or it can be a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which is used for R&D contracts.

You respond to the solicitation with a proposal. The proposal describes your technical approach, your team, your past performance, and your cost. The government evaluates proposals against published criteria and awards the contract to the winner.

For small contracts, the process can be fast. The government can use simplified acquisition procedures for contracts under $250,000, which involve less paperwork and faster timelines.

For large contracts, the process can take months or years. The proposal alone can be hundreds of pages. The evaluation can take six months. The award can be protested by losing bidders, adding more time.

For blockchain companies, the most realistic entry points are SBIR grants, BAAs, and small contract vehicles like SBIR Phase III sole-source awards. Large prime contracts are difficult for small companies to win directly because they require past performance and scale.

Other Transaction Authority

Other Transaction Authority, or OTA, is a procurement mechanism that the DoD uses for prototype projects. OTAs are not standard procurement contracts. They are governed by a different set of rules that give the government more flexibility.

OTAs are used for innovative technology projects where standard procurement rules are too rigid. They allow for faster awards, more flexible terms, and non-traditional contractor participation. A non-traditional contractor is a company that does not normally do business with the DoD.

For blockchain companies, OTAs are relevant because they are designed for exactly the kind of company that has innovative technology but no government contracting experience. The DoD has used OTAs for software, AI, and cybersecurity projects.

OTA awards are made through consortium managers. The consortium manager is an intermediary that aggregates proposals and manages the OTA vehicle. You join the consortium, and then you can respond to OTA solicitations through the consortium.

Notable OTA consortiums include the National Advanced Mobility Consortium, the Consortium for Command, Control, and Communications in Cyberspace (C5), and the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium. Different consortiums focus on different technology areas.

Security Clearances

Some DoD contracts require security clearances. If your work involves classified information, your company needs a Facility Clearance (FCL) and your employees need individual clearances.

The Facility Clearance is granted to the company. It requires that the company be sponsored by a government agency or a prime contractor. You cannot apply for an FCL on your own. Someone has to sponsor you because they want to give you a contract that requires access to classified information.

Individual clearances include Secret and Top Secret. The clearance process involves a background investigation by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. It can take several months to over a year.

For most blockchain companies, security clearances are not immediately relevant. Most blockchain work for the DoD is unclassified. But if you are targeting work that involves classified systems or classified data, clearances become a prerequisite.

Public Examples of Blockchain Companies in Government

Several companies have successfully sold blockchain-adjacent technology to the government. These are public examples.

Chainalysis is the most prominent. Chainalysis provides blockchain analytics and investigation tools — see our blockchain compliance tools comparison for how they stack up against competitors. Their customers include the IRS, the FBI, the DEA, the Secret Service, and other federal agencies. Chainalysis has won multiple contracts through the General Services Administration schedule and direct agency awards. The company is registered in SAM.gov and has a CAGE code. Their work focuses on tracing cryptocurrency transactions for law enforcement and compliance, which connects to on-chain wallet intelligence techniques.

Elliptic is another blockchain analytics company. Elliptic provides wallet risk scoring and transaction monitoring. Their government customers include federal law enforcement agencies. Elliptic is a UK-based company with a NCAGE code and SAM.gov registration for foreign entities.

TRM Labs provides blockchain intelligence for cryptocurrency compliance and investigation. Their customers include federal law enforcement and financial regulators. TRM Labs has won contracts through the GSA schedule and direct agency awards. They are registered in SAM.gov with a CAGE code.

These three companies are the clearest examples of blockchain-adjacent companies that have successfully navigated the federal procurement process. They all provide analytics and investigation tools, which is the most established market for blockchain technology in government.

Beyond analytics, there are companies working on blockchain for supply chain, identity, and secure communications in government contexts. These are earlier-stage markets. The procurement process is the same, but the contract opportunities are fewer and less defined.

The Dual-Use Opportunity

Blockchain technology is inherently dual-use. The same infrastructure that supports decentralized finance can support secure supply chain tracking for the DoD. The same cryptographic techniques that protect user privacy can protect operational security for military applications, and the same analytics used for MEV detection can be applied to chain analysis.

The DoD has expressed interest in dual-use technologies through its funding of DIU, the Defense Innovation Unit. DIU is designed to commercialize commercial technology for military use. It uses Other Transaction Authority to make fast awards to commercial companies.

For blockchain companies, the dual-use framing is important. The DoD is not going to buy a decentralized exchange. But it might buy a blockchain-based audit trail system, a secure multi-party computation platform, or a zero-knowledge proof system for verifying computations on untrusted hardware.

The key is framing. You are not selling blockchain. You are selling a capability that happens to use blockchain. The procurement officer does not care about consensus mechanisms. They care about whether the system solves their problem, whether it is secure, and whether it complies with their requirements.

Practical Steps for a Blockchain Company

If you are a blockchain company that wants to become defense-eligible, here is the sequence.

First, incorporate as a US entity if you have not already. The federal government strongly prefers US-based, US-owned companies. Foreign ownership complicates everything.

Second, get your EIN from the IRS. You need this for SAM.gov registration.

Third, register in SAM.gov. Set aside a few hours for this. Have your business documents ready. Be precise about your legal name and address.

Fourth, receive your CAGE code. This happens automatically as part of SAM.gov registration.

Fifth, select your NAICS codes. Choose all that apply. Look at what codes similar companies use.

Sixth, monitor SAM.gov and beta.SAM.gov for contract opportunities. Set up saved searches for your NAICS codes and keywords like blockchain, distributed ledger, or cryptography.

Seventh, consider applying for SBIR grants. Monitor sbir.gov for solicitations from DoD components. The proposals are competitive but the funding is non-dilutive.

Eighth, consider joining an OTA consortium if your technology fits a consortium’s focus area. This gives you access to OTA solicitations.

Ninth, build relationships. The government market is relationship-driven. Attend industry days, respond to RFIs, and talk to program managers. The technical evaluation of your proposal matters, but so does whether the program manager knows who you are.

This process takes time. From zero to defense-eligible can be done in a few months. From defense-eligible to first contract can take a year or more. Patience is required.

Final Notes

The defense market is the largest single buyer of technology in the world. The DoD budget for research, development, test, and evaluation is over $100 billion annually. A fraction of that going to blockchain-based systems would be significant for the industry.

But the procurement process is not optional. You cannot shortcut it. SAM.gov registration, CAGE codes, and NAICS classifications are the price of entry. The companies that have succeeded in this market, like Chainalysis and TRM Labs, did so by completing the process and then delivering technology that solved specific government problems.

The opportunity is real. The process is slow and bureaucratic. Both things are true at the same time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a defense-eligible blockchain?

A defense-eligible blockchain is a blockchain platform or application that meets the security, compliance, and procurement standards required to work with government defense agencies. This includes meeting frameworks for data protection, operational security, and interoperability. Eligibility is determined through formal government procurement and certification processes.

Why does the government use blockchain?

Government agencies use blockchain for applications that benefit from immutable audit trails, transparent record-keeping, and secure multi-party data sharing. Use cases include supply chain tracking, identity management, secure communications, and financial transparency. Blockchain can reduce fraud and improve accountability in government operations.

What is FedRAMP for blockchain?

FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) is a U.S. government program that standardizes security assessment and authorization for cloud services. Blockchain-based cloud services must achieve FedRAMP authorization to be used by federal agencies. The process involves rigorous security controls and continuous monitoring requirements.

Can blockchain be used in government?

Yes, blockchain can be used in government for applications requiring tamper-proof records, transparent procurement, and secure inter-agency data sharing. Several governments have piloted blockchain for land registries, voting systems, and grant tracking. Adoption requires meeting strict security, compliance, and procurement standards specific to each agency.

Written by Jacob Cavazos