The Algeria Principles: A New Global Framework for Countering Terrorist Financing in Emerging Technologies
An overview of the principles, how they can be used, and why they matter.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Security Council took a modest but meaningful step to address a growing issue in terrorist financing: the use of financial technologies. The Algeria Principles (S/2025/22) are a set of non-binding recommendations designed to assist states in preventing, detecting, and disrupting the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist financing. While they may seem like just another set of UN guidelines, they’re worth paying attention to, especially if you’re in compliance, financial regulation, fintech, or national security.
Why Now?
Terrorist financing is no longer limited to bank accounts and cash smuggling. As I’ve written elsewhere, cryptocurrency has become a major tool for terrorist financiers, especially when other channels are too costly or risky. Beyond crypto, we’re seeing terrorist organizations explore everything from crowdfunding platforms to gaming gift cards as ways to raise and move money.
At the same time, regulation of financial technologies varies dramatically from one country to the next. Some states take a hands-off approach in a bid to attract innovation and investment. But this variation creates a familiar problem: jurisdictional arbitrage. Terrorists and their support networks exploit gaps between jurisdictions. When one state lags behind in regulation or enforcement, it becomes a soft spot in the global financial system.
The Algeria Principles are a response to this growing threat.
What Do the Principles Actually Do?
To be blunt: not much—yet. They are non-binding, so they don’t impose any legal obligations. But their real power lies in the groundwork they lay for future action.
Foundation for future UNSC resolutions: The Principles can serve as a policy base for more robust measures down the line.
Support for research and policy work: Researchers and NGOs can point to the Principles as UN-endorsed recognition of a specific threat vector.
Anchor for engagement: States can reference the Principles in developing public-private partnerships (PPPs), especially when reaching out to fintechs and tech companies for collaboration on terrorist financing risks.
In short, they create a shared reference point in an area that desperately needs one.
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The Algeria Principles will impact several different sectors implicated in the fight against terrorsit financing:
Regulators, especially those in financial supervision and sanctions enforcement, will find a roadmap for updating risk assessments and regulatory approaches.
Reporting entities, including traditional financial institutions and virtual asset service providers, should understand how these principles could shape expectations regarding their internal controls.
Fintech companies will better understand why states are increasingly approaching them not just about anti-money laundering (AML) concerns, but specifically about counterterrorist financing (CTF).
That last point is critical. For too long, CTF has been treated as an AML afterthought. The Algeria Principles shift the focus explicitly to terrorist financing, recognizing that it requires distinct tools, partnerships, and understanding.
There are four key principles, and while they are expanded on at length (often with good and interesting suggestions for engagement and mitigation), they can be boiled down to the following:
Enhance understanding of terrorist financing risks in fintech
Develop and implement risk-based, proportionate regulation
Detect and disrupt the abuse of new technologies
Evaluate the impact of CTF measures on new technologies
Read the full document here.
Today’s Principles are Tomorrow’s Laws
The Algeria Principles aren’t revolutionary, but they are a necessary first step towards more engagement and possibly more regulation. They signal a recognition at the highest levels of international policymaking that terrorist financing has changed—and that our tools, partnerships, and policies need to change with it. If you work in fintech, regulation, compliance, or financial intelligence, these principles should be on your radar.
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