CNAS Launches Task Force on FinTech, Crypto, and National Security

Washington, June 30, 2022—Today, the Center for a New American Security announced the launch of the CNAS Task Force on FinTech, Crypto, and National Security.

The CNAS Task Force will develop pragmatic and innovative national security policy recommendations for the rapidly evolving ecosystem of financial technologies, crypto, digital assets, and decentralized finance (DeFi). It will define U.S. strategic interests and opportunities in pursuing leadership of this technology area, as well as advance the policy conversation for managing its unique risks. The Task Force will bring together a diverse group of technology and policy experts from the private sector, public sector, and academia for this year-long research effort. Drawing from insights from the Task Force, the CNAS research team will publish a series of policy briefs on national security policy for the crypto and digital assets ecosystem.

The CNAS Task Force will be co-chaired by Sigal Mandelker, former Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and now at Ribbit Capital, and Dr. Chris Brummer, Director of Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute of International Economic Law and a leading authority on law and financial technology. Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the CNAS Energy, Economics, and Security Program, will coordinate the research.

“Technological advancements in fintech and crypto have tremendous potential to bring far more efficient and accessible financial products to hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the world, leading to economic empowerment and security,” said Mandelker. “These fast growing sectors have also attracted some of the smartest engineers and entrepreneurs in the world. One of the most important national security questions related to this space is whether the United States will position itself at the center of financial innovation or whether it will cede its traditional prominence to other countries. I’m honored to co-chair the CNAS Task Force and to work with such an illustrious group of policymakers and innovators to understand and explore that and many other critical national security questions.”

“U.S. national security depends on meeting the great challenges and great opportunities of the future,” said Brummer. “And over the course of America's history, technology has always been situated in both arenas. Digital assets and fintech are no exception. By engaging with leading ideas and experts, the work of the country will be to position the national dialogue in ways that build a policy framework that speaks to the best of our collective values. CNAS is taking those steps today and I'm looking forward to the great work ahead of the CNAS Task Force.”

Full membership of the CNAS Task Force will be announced at a later date.

For more information, see the CNAS Task Force website here.

For media inquiries, contact Cameron Edinburgh at [email protected].