TERRORIST FINANCING, VIRTUAL CURRENCIES, AND THE FUTURE OF SECURITY
TERRORIST FINANCING, VIRTUAL CURRENCIES, AND THE FUTURE OF SECURITY

Summary/Abstract: Perceived risk in terrorist use and widespread adoption of virtual currencies over the pastfew years has driven the notion that this innovation represents a serious threat to security. Thisarticle addresses this issue, examining the security implications associated with the rise of thistechnology. In this article we will first try to present an overview of this question to subsequentlysketch out a theoretical framework based on a critical approach to security. The article thenconsiders patterns and methods of terrorist financing to help situate virtual currencies in thiscontext, arguing that some of the alleged benefits offered by this technology are limited. Inconsequently considering the case of ISIL, it determines that the organization’s current financingneeds are best served by their established methods and not virtual currencies. The final section thenreturns to the question of security, showing that a number of practices have resulted in the gradualsecuritization of this technology, and advocating for its de-securitization, or its negotiation in thepolitical realm and not one defined by the logic of emergency.

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