Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a March 27 announcement that authorities have seized over $200,000 worth of cryptocurrency that was intended to support the armed group Hamas.
The cryptocurrency, valued at $201,400, was traced to fundraising addresses allegedly controlled by Hamas, which have been used since October 2024 to launder over $1.5 million in digital assets.
The DOJ stated that the money laundering activities were carried out through a series of "virtual currency exchanges and transactions, utilizing suspicious funders and over-the-counter brokers." These funds are currently held in a combination of at least 17 wallets.
Court documents related to the seizure of Hamas-linked cryptocurrency. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
In January 2024, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, along with corresponding organizations in the UK and Australia, announced sanctions against a cryptocurrency trading network and facilitators linked to Hamas. These sanctions were based on those imposed by the U.S. Treasury in October 2023.
In January 2024, three families of victims from the Hamas attack on Israel sued Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao, accusing the exchange of providing "substantial assistance" to terrorists. During oral arguments, the lawyer representing Binance claimed that the exchange had "no special relationship with Hamas […]".
Binance is under scrutiny from the U.S. government for alleged deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls. The exchange reached a $4.3 billion settlement with the DOJ in November 2023.
According to a report from the Congressional Research Service in December 2024, Hamas has reportedly sought cryptocurrency donations since at least 2019, although the "scale and effectiveness" of these efforts remain unclear.
The use of cryptocurrency for fundraising by terrorist organizations has increasingly drawn the attention of U.S. officials, with some questioning whether the industry needs more oversight or regulation to prevent such activities.
According to a 2023 report by Chainalysis, terrorist financing accounts for a very small portion of cryptocurrency use, and illegal organizations continue to rely on traditional, fiat-based methods to fund their operations.
Related: The crypto industry calls on Congress to amend the DOJ's rules against Tornado Cash developers.
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