The Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) — a London-based defense and security think tank founded in 1831 — has launched a new taskforce to examine how cryptoassets are reshaping the global security landscape, bringing together government officials, law enforcement agencies, regulators, researchers and private-sector specialists.

The Crypto and International Security Taskforce was formally launched on September 24 with financial backing from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, whose data and monitoring tools are widely used by investigators and financial institutions. Its mandate spans both sides of the issue: the security threats linked to cryptoassets, and the legitimate applications that could support humanitarian and civil-society objectives.

Focus on illicit crypto activity

RUSI said the initiative reflects growing concern over the use of digital assets by criminal organizations, sanctioned entities and hostile state actors. Figures cited by the taskforce estimate that sanctioned entities received roughly $104 billion in crypto during 2025 — a 694% increase from the previous year.

The institute also pointed to organized crime groups using crypto networks to move illicit proceeds and exploit weaknesses in regulatory systems. Separately, the Financial Action Task Force, the intergovernmental body that sets global anti-money laundering standards, has warned that criminal groups could develop stablecoins purpose-built to make freezing or seizing funds more difficult.\nThe new taskforce will investigate how cryptoassets are used for organized crime, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and political interference, while also examining legitimate uses of digital assets in humanitarian and civil-society work.

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 built by cybercriminal networks.

Recent enforcement action illustrates the challenge. 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, a branch of Iran's armed forces long subject to U.S. sanctions.

Three areas of investigation

The taskforce plans 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, including whether existing mechanisms can keep pace with increasingly sophisticated financial and technological networks. The third will focus on legitimate applications, including the potential role of cryptoassets in supporting civil society organizations and humanitarian assistance.

Findings from the meetings will be consolidated into a final set of practical recommendations for policymakers. A concluding conference will present those findings to a wider audience, ahead of a special session at RUSI's SIFMANet Summit in London in December 2026. That session is expected to concentrate specifically on the use of cryptoassets in sanctions circumvention.

Transparency and financial security

CFS Director Tom Keatinge said the growing integration of cryptoassets into the activities of criminal networks and hostile states made it important to examine both their risks and their 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 taskforce has also tracked emerging threats, including a reported 420% increase in blockchain dead drops used to deliver malware. Such developments show how blockchain infrastructure can be adapted for activities extending well beyond conventional financial transactions.

Kinga Redlowska, head of CFS Europe, emphasized the broader security implications of financial access. When control over money becomes a mechanism of repression, she argued, the ability of individuals and organizations to maintain financial autonomy becomes a security concern in its own right.

By combining expertise from governments, regulators, law enforcement, academia and the private sector, the taskforce 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 — an agenda that now spans financial regulators and national security institutions alike. Its findings could contribute to discussions over how governments and financial institutions respond to increasingly complex, crypto-enabled security risks.