Wallets linked to Hamas received digital currencies worth $41 millionPalestinian Islamic Jihad, another designated terror group, received $91 millionIsrael has now ordered frozen over 100 accounts across multiple platforms
More than 100 cryptocurrency accounts on platforms like the exchange Binance have been frozen as part of an attempt by Israel to block funding of Hamas, a terrorist group that received more than $40million through similar sites between 2021 and 2023.
Since October 7, Israel’s law enforcement forces have ordered the freezing of accounts on Binance and ordered a closure inspection of around 200, sources cited by The Financial Times said on Tuesday.
Binance complied with the closure of some accounts and said it follows internationally recognized sanctions laws, but would not comment further.Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has not commented on the asset seizure.
It comes after the revelation, revealed yesterday by Israeli research firms, that Hamas received a huge amount of funding through the crypto-currency sites.
Crypto wallets linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad received around $91 million between August 2021 and June 2023.Hamas took about $41 million in the same period
Tether, a cryptocurrency issuer, froze 32 digital wallets yesterday that contained $800,000 combined as part of the effort.
Since the October 7 attack on Israel, Israeli intelligence forces say links to Hamas crypto donation sites have popped up frequently.
Hamas and its military wing received around $41 million in digital currencies between around August 2021 and June 2023, according to analysis by BitOK, a Tel Aviv-based firm.
Separate research by Elliptic, another crypto research firm, found that wallets linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad – another designated terror group – received around $91 million in the same time frame, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Receiving money as cryptocurrencies, which do not require mainstream financial institutions as intermediaries, can help the groups circumvent sanctions designed to limit their funding.
The findings come as US officials step up their attempts to regulate the wider crypto industry.Senator Elizabeth Warren said ‘the danger of crypto-financed terrorism is real and should be an urgent priority for Congress’.
Israeli soldiers walk past houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, Saturday, Oct.14, 2023
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis on Oct.
15, 2023
More than 1,400 Israelis have died since Hamas launched its assault on October 7.
Fighters from Palestinian Islamic Jihad were also involved in the attack.
Nearly 200 Israelis, including children, have been kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza, Israel has said.
The Gaza health ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded since the fighting erupted.More than a million people have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas.
Israeli officials have previously said the rise of cryptocurrencies has made it harder to track and block funding for groups like Hamas.
Elliptic’s research found that between August 2021 and April 2023, wallets linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad received millions of dollars every month.In May 2022, the group received nearly $10 million.
Tom Robinson, the co-founder of Elliptic, said Hamas ‘has been one of the more successful users of crypto for the financing of terrorism’.
The groups have previously asked publicly for donations by Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.They also use so-called stablecoins, whose value is tied to that of the US dollar to prevent volatility, to carry out transactions.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has said it has been working in ‘real time, around the clock’ since the Hamas attacks to support Israeli officials who are working to freeze accounts linked to terror groups.
Armed members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas – take part in a march in the southern Gaza Strip in December 2022
IDF soldiers move through neighborhoods destroyed by Hamas militants after they attacked this kibbutz days earlier near the border of Gaza on October 15, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel
A Palestinian youth reacts as he sits on the rubble of a destroyed home following an Israeli military strike on the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on Octobers 15, 2023
Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, is currently pushing a bill to increase the regulation of cryptocurrencies, including imposing anti-money laundering rules.
She told Politico: ‘There’s a growing bipartisan coalition of senators who are committed to passing this bill and fighting back against terrorism worldwide by choking off the financing.’
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will return to Israel on Monday after completing a frantic six-country tour through Arab nations aimed at preventing the fighting from igniting a broader regional conflict, American officials said.
President Joe Biden is also considering a trip to Israel, though no plans have been finalized.
Biden has repeatedly proclaimed support for Israel, but he said in a TV interview he thought it would be a ‘big mistake’ for the country to reoccupy Gaza.
Israel’s ambassadors to the US and UN said the country does not want an occupation.But ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan told CNN that Israel will do ‘whatever is needed to obliterate their (Hamas’) capabilities’..
