RUSI Launches Crypto and International Security Taskforce

The Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) launched a Crypto and International Security Taskforce on 24 September to study how cryptoassets are reshaping global security, with funding support from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The body will bring together senior government officials, law enforcement and regulatory authorities, researchers, and private sector experts.

Why RUSI is acting now

RUSI argues the work is urgent. Its researchers estimate that sanctioned entities received $104 billion in crypto during 2025, a 694% year-on-year increase, while organised crime groups move billions in illicit proceeds through crypto and exploit regulatory gaps, according to the taskforce page. The Financial Action Task Force has separately warned that criminal networks could develop their own stablecoins designed to resist freezing and seizure. RUSI says generative AI is accelerating malicious activity faster than it can be investigated, while nation-states are plugging into illicit crypto supply chains originally built for cybercriminals. The risks are concrete: U.S. authorities recently sanctioned the Iranian exchange BitBank for moving hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.