CipherOwl has joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) as a new Member, bringing blockchain compliance intelligence directly into the global effort to eliminate child sexual abuse material from the internet.
CipherOwl is an intelligence infrastructure chosen by leading exchanges, DeFi protocols and government investigators that need compliance capabilities that scale with growth. A trusted platform by the public sector for criminal investigations and adopted by crypto native institutions navigating regulatory requirements, CipherOwl has become a standard for evidence-based compliance and AI-driven decision making in digital assets.
Cryptocurrency is now the most offered payment method on commercial child sexual abuse websites. The IWF’s 2024 Annual Data & Insights Report found that over 60% of such sites displaying payment options accept cryptocurrency, creating a financial infrastructure that enables criminals to profit from the abuse of children at scale. Between 2022 and 2024, crypto transaction volume linked to child sexual abuse material addresses increased by 130%.
In 2025, IWF analysts took action on more than 312,000 confirmed reports of child sexual abuse material, making it the worst year on record in the organisation’s 30 year history. As criminal networks grow more sophisticated in their use of digital assets, the need for real time intelligence sharing between child protection organisations and the blockchain industry has never been more urgent.
Through its IWF membership, CipherOwl will integrate the IWF’s Virtual Currency Alerts into its compliance platform, providing exchanges, DeFi protocols and government investigators with immediate notifications when cryptocurrency wallets are linked to the purchase of child sexual abuse imagery. CipherOwl will also access the IWF’s Keywords List and historical Virtual Currency Alert data, strengthening the intelligence foundation that powers investigations and compliance decisions across the digital asset ecosystem.
CipherOwl joins Chainalysis and Elliptic among the blockchain intelligence firms now working alongside the IWF to trace, disrupt and dismantle the financial networks that criminals use to monetise the sexual exploitation of children.
“Compliance infrastructure exists to protect people. When cryptocurrency is used to fund the exploitation of children, the industry has a responsibility to act. Joining the IWF puts real time intelligence directly into the hands of the institutions and investigators best positioned to stop it. We are proud to stand alongside the IWF and its members in this critical mission,” said CipherOwl’s Head of Crypto Intelligence.
Kerry Smith, Internet Watch Foundation CEO, said: “Abhorrent images and videos of child sexual abuse are traded on commercial websites with shocking ease. A child’s pain should never be sold in a package deal or at subscription rates for a criminal’s enjoyment and we must do all that we can to disrupt the callous commodification of their abuse.
“Sharing our intelligence through Virtual Currency Alerts with law enforcement agencies and organisations like CipherOwl is crucial to getting criminal sites taken down and investigated. We look forward to working with CipherOwl to disrupt the spread of child sexual abuse material and to help safeguard children.”
Find out more about becoming a Member and the services the IWF can provide here.
