The Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has launched a new taskforce examining how cryptoassets are changing the global security landscape, bringing together government officials, law enforcement agencies, regulators, researchers and private-sector specialists.
The Crypto and International Security Taskforce was launched on September 24 with financial support from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis. The initiative will examine both the security threats associated with cryptoassets and legitimate applications that could support humanitarian and civil-society objectives.
Taskforce to examine illicit crypto activity
RUSI said the initiative reflects growing concerns about the use of digital assets by criminal organizations, sanctioned entities and hostile state actors. According to estimates cited by the task force, sanctioned entities received about $104 billion in crypto during 2025, representing a 694% increase from the previous year.
The organization also pointed to the use of crypto networks by organized crime groups to transfer illicit proceeds and exploit weaknesses in regulatory systems. The Financial Action Task Force has separately warned that criminal groups could develop stablecoins specifically designed to make freezing or seizing funds more difficult.
The new task force will investigate how cryptoassets are being used for organized crime, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and political interference while also examining legitimate uses of digital assets in humanitarian and civil-society activities.
RUSI researchers said the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence could further accelerate malicious activity, potentially allowing criminal operations to evolve faster than investigators can respond. The organization also highlighted concerns that nation-states could connect to illicit crypto infrastructure initially developed by cybercriminal networks.
Recent enforcement actions illustrate the issue. U.S. authorities have sanctioned the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank over allegations involving the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Three areas of investigation
The task force plans to conduct a series of meetings organized around three broad areas. The first will map how illicit actors use cryptoassets across organized crime, terrorism financing, sanctions avoidance and political interference.
The second will assess the regulatory, law enforcement, and private-sector tools currently available to detect and counter such activity. This will include consideration of whether existing mechanisms can keep pace with increasingly sophisticated financial and technological networks.
The third area will focus on legitimate applications of cryptoassets, including their potential role in supporting civil society organizations and humanitarian assistance.
The findings from the meetings will be incorporated into a final set of practical recommendations for policymakers. A concluding conference is planned to present those findings to a wider audience before a special session at RUSI’s SIFMANet Summit in London in December 2026. That session is expected to focus specifically on the use of cryptoassets in sanctions circumvention.
Transparency and financial security
CFS Director Tom Keatinge said the increasing integration of cryptoassets into the activities of criminal networks and hostile states made it important to examine both their risks and legitimate applications.
Chainalysis co-founder and Chief Executive Jonathan Levin said the transparency inherent in blockchain-based assets could contribute to a safer financial system when appropriate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are applied.
Chainalysis research cited by the task force has also tracked emerging threats, including a reported 420% increase in blockchain dead drops used to deliver malware. Such developments illustrate how blockchain infrastructure can be adapted for activities extending beyond conventional financial transactions.
Kinga Redlowska, head of CFS Europe, emphasized the broader security implications of financial access. She argued that when control over money becomes a mechanism of repression, the ability of individuals and organizations to maintain financial autonomy becomes a security concern.
By combining expertise from governments, regulators, law enforcement, academia and the private sector, the task force aims to develop practical recommendations for addressing illicit crypto activity while preserving legitimate financial and humanitarian uses.
The initiative comes as policymakers face growing pressure to understand how digital assets intersect with sanctions enforcement, cybercrime, terrorism financing and geopolitical competition. Its findings could contribute to discussions over how governments and financial institutions respond to increasingly complex crypto-enabled security risks.
