var TRINITY_TTS_WP_CONFIG={“cleanText”:”New Binance terror financing revelations spark calls for crackdown.u23f8New revelations of u2018cryptou2019 terrorist financing are posing serious problems for those trying to drag the digital asset sector out of the cold and into the mainstream.u23f8Last week, blockchain intelligence analysts TRM Labs issuedu00a0a reportu00a0aimed at u2018understanding how Hamas uses crypto.u2019 The report followed the attack by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on Israeli civilians earlier this month that U.S. President Joe Bidenu00a0calledu00a0the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.u23f8TRMu2019s report offered a historical view of Hamasu2019 embrace of digital assets as a way of raising funds outside traditional finance channels. As far back as 2019, Hamasu2019 military wing began soliciting a significant volume ofu00a0BTCu00a0donations on Telegram before carving out dedicated spaces for such pitches on its official websites. These appeals expressly stated that funds raised would be utilized to commit acts of violence against Israel.u23f8The following year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)u00a0seized over 300 accounts and millions of dollarsu00a0linked to crypto fundraising efforts by Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The DOJ took control of Hamas websites and continued to operate them covertly, allowing agents to trace the flow of funds back to their origin points.u23f8Last week,u00a0CNNu00a0reported that the DOJ was still pursuing a criminal money laundering investigation based on information gleaned from these accounts. Arda Akartuna of United Kingdom-based blockchain analysts Elliptic told CNN that Hamas was among the u201cmost successful initiators of crypto asset-based fundraising to date in terms of amount raised.u201du23f8Hamas announced in April that u201chostile effortsu201d by law enforcement agencies meant it wasu00a0halting its BTC fundraising effortsu00a0u201cout of concern about the safety of donors and to spare them any harm.u201d Despite that announcement, the following month saw Israeli authorities announce theu00a0seizure of 190 accountsu00a0on theu00a0Binanceu00a0digital asset exchange suspected of belonging to Hamas and ISIS.u23f8That was hardly the first time Binance has countedu00a0terrorists and their supportersu00a0among its customers. As far back as 2019, Israeli mediau00a0linked Hamas funding to Binance accounts. In 2021, blockchain detectives tracked moreu00a0BTC flowing from Hamas wallets to Binance.u23f8That 2021 discovery coincided with a major Hamas fundraising effort following a new outbreak of violence between Hamas forces and the Israeli military. Hamas-controlled digital wallets received more than US$400,000 as a result of this campaign.u23f8Looking the other wayu23f8While donations to Hamas tend to surge following outbreaks of violence, efforts by Hamas-linked entities to fundraise off the current crisis have so far proven less lucrative. Not that this has stopped Hamas from trying. Despite its earlier moratorium, Hamas followed up its recent attacks with new appeals on social media networks for donations in BTC or the USDT (Tether)u00a0stablecoin.u23f8On October 10, Israel Policeu00a0announcedu00a0that the Cyber Unit of Lahav 433 (basically, Israelu2019s FBI) had u201csuccessfully frozen cryptocurrency accounts used by Hamas for fundraising.u201d The police credited assistance from the Ministry of Defenseu2019s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and other national intelligence units.u23f8To no oneu2019s surprise, the seized Hamas accounts were on Binance, which is said to have u2018cooperatedu2019 with Israeli authorities in locking the accounts. Binance subsequently issued a statement saying it was u201cworking in real-time, around the clock to support efforts to combat terror financing.u201du23f8The thing is, weu2019ve heard that before, with little evidence that Binance is doing anything other than actingu00a0afteru00a0external agencies raise a stink. Until that call comes in, the exchange appears extremely disinterested in doing anything to disrupt the lawless free-for-all going on under their noses.u23f8In May, when those 190 terror-linked accounts were seized by Israeli authorities, Binance pleaded helplessness, claiming that u201cbad actors donu2019t register accounts under the names of their criminal enterprises.u201d But given recent civil suits filed against Binance by U.S. regulatory agenciesu2014in which Binance senior staff joked about their u2018know your customeru2019 policies being u201cfo shou201du2014itu2019s not clear that Binance would do anything about terror financing even if it did know.u23f8And make no mistake, Binanceu00a0doesu00a0know. In March, theu00a0civil suitu00a0filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) featured internal communications in which Binanceu2019s then-chief compliance officer joked about identifying u201cHAMAS transactionsu201d on the exchange. Despite this knowledge, thereu2019s no evidence that Binance did absolutely anything to stop these transactions or alert the relevant authorities.u23f8Binance isu00a0by no means the only exchangeu00a0to be utilized by terror groups. Last week, theu00a0Wall Street Journalu00a0reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad received millions of dollars via the Russia-basedu00a0Garantexu00a0exchange. Like Binance, Garantex has also helped move money on behalf of state-sponsored hackers andu00a0helped Russia dodge economic sanctions.u23f8This most recent action by Israeli authorities also saw them work with their U.K. counterparts to freeze an account at Barclays bank (NASDAQ: BCS) that Hamas was using to solicit donations. So, fiat currencyu2019s role in terror financing isnu2019t necessarily getting a pass.u23f8But Binance remains the Forrest Gump of crypto terror financing, seemingly never far from the action. So this latest connection to Hamasu2014and Binanceu2019s history ofu00a0enabling Iranian sanctions-dodging effortsu2014will only bolsteru00a0the DOJu2019s case against the exchangeu00a0and its founder,u00a0Changpeng u2018CZu2019 Zhao.u23f8Have axe, will grindu23f8Binanceu2019s U.S.-facing exchangeu00a0Binance.USu00a0is already struggling to keep its lights whileu00a0fighting U.S. regulatorsu00a0in federal courts, but even worse news may be in the pipeline. The latest Hamas financing revelations have lit a fire under Washington politicians who already had little love for all things u2018crypto.u2019u23f8Last Friday,u00a0Politicou00a0quoted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) saying u201cthe danger of crypto-financed terrorism is real and should be an urgent priority for Congress.u201d This summer, Warrenu00a0re-introduced a billu00a0she co-sponsored with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) that would tighten anti-money laundering controls on digital asset transactions. Warren called the latest Hamas revelationsu00a0u201ca wakeup call for lawmakersu201du00a0and is lobbying other senators to support her bill.u23f8Earlier this year, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) suggested Warrenu2019s bill didnu2019t have his full support. But Brown, who chairs the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, issuedu00a0a statementu00a0last week saying his committee plans to u201cexamine the financing behind Hamasu2019s attacks, including whether cryptocurrency was involved, and what additional economic tools we need to stop state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran, from supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups.u201du23f8Over at the House of Representatives, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of both the Financial Services and Intelligence committees, told Politico that u2018cryptou2019 operators need to articulate a legitimate reason for being, and they need to do it yesterday. u201cAs long as the use case is some weird combination of libertarian fantasies and drug dealers and terrorists, members of Congress are not going to be excited to give the industry the benefit of the doubt.u201du23f8Followu00a0u2019s Crypto Crime Cartelu00a0series, which delves into the stream of groupu2014fromu00a0BitMEXu00a0tou00a0Binance,u00a0Bitcoin.com,u00a0Blockstream,u00a0ShapeShift,u00a0Coinbase,u00a0Ripple,u23f8 Ethereum,u00a0FTXu00a0andu00a0Tetheru2014who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for nau00efve (and even experienced) players in the market.u23f8″,”headlineText”:”New Binance terror financing revelations spark calls for crackdown”,”articleText”:”New revelations of u2018cryptou2019 terrorist financing are posing serious problems for those trying to drag the digital asset sector out of the cold and into the mainstream.u23f8Last week, blockchain intelligence analysts TRM Labs issuedu00a0a reportu00a0aimed at u2018understanding how Hamas uses crypto.u2019 The report followed the attack by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on Israeli civilians earlier this month that U.S. President Joe Bidenu00a0calledu00a0the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.u23f8TRMu2019s report offered a historical view of Hamasu2019 embrace of digital assets as a way of raising funds outside traditional finance channels. As far back as 2019, Hamasu2019 military wing began soliciting a significant volume ofu00a0BTCu00a0donations on Telegram before carving out dedicated spaces for such pitches on its official websites. These appeals expressly stated that funds raised would be utilized to commit acts of violence against Israel.u23f8The following year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)u00a0seized over 300 accounts and millions of dollarsu00a0linked to crypto fundraising efforts by Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The DOJ took control of Hamas websites and continued to operate them covertly, allowing agents to trace the flow of funds back to their origin points.u23f8Last week,u00a0CNNu00a0reported that the DOJ was still pursuing a criminal money laundering investigation based on information gleaned from these accounts. Arda Akartuna of United Kingdom-based blockchain analysts Elliptic told CNN that Hamas was among the u201cmost successful initiators of crypto asset-based fundraising to date in terms of amount raised.u201du23f8Hamas announced in April that u201chostile effortsu201d by law enforcement agencies meant it wasu00a0halting its BTC fundraising effortsu00a0u201cout of concern about the safety of donors and to spare them any harm.u201d Despite that announcement, the following month saw Israeli authorities announce theu00a0seizure of 190 accountsu00a0on theu00a0Binanceu00a0digital asset exchange suspected of belonging to Hamas and ISIS.u23f8That was hardly the first time Binance has countedu00a0terrorists and their supportersu00a0among its customers. As far back as 2019, Israeli mediau00a0linked Hamas funding to Binance accounts. In 2021, blockchain detectives tracked moreu00a0BTC flowing from Hamas wallets to Binance.u23f8That 2021 discovery coincided with a major Hamas fundraising effort following a new outbreak of violence between Hamas forces and the Israeli military. Hamas-controlled digital wallets received more than US$400,000 as a result of this campaign.u23f8Looking the other wayu23f8While donations to Hamas tend to surge following outbreaks of violence, efforts by Hamas-linked entities to fundraise off the current crisis have so far proven less lucrative. Not that this has stopped Hamas from trying. Despite its earlier moratorium, Hamas followed up its recent attacks with new appeals on social media networks for donations in BTC or the USDT (Tether)u00a0stablecoin.u23f8On October 10, Israel Policeu00a0announcedu00a0that the Cyber Unit of Lahav 433 (basically, Israelu2019s FBI) had u201csuccessfully frozen cryptocurrency accounts used by Hamas for fundraising.u201d The police credited assistance from the Ministry of Defenseu2019s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and other national intelligence units.u23f8To no oneu2019s surprise, the seized Hamas accounts were on Binance, which is said to have u2018cooperatedu2019 with Israeli authorities in locking the accounts. Binance subsequently issued a statement saying it was u201cworking in real-time, around the clock to support efforts to combat terror financing.u201du23f8The thing is, weu2019ve heard that before, with little evidence that Binance is doing anything other than actingu00a0afteru00a0external agencies raise a stink. Until that call comes in, the exchange appears extremely disinterested in doing anything to disrupt the lawless free-for-all going on under their noses.u23f8In May, when those 190 terror-linked accounts were seized by Israeli authorities, Binance pleaded helplessness, claiming that u201cbad actors donu2019t register accounts under the names of their criminal enterprises.u201d But given recent civil suits filed against Binance by U.S. regulatory agenciesu2014in which Binance senior staff joked about their u2018know your customeru2019 policies being u201cfo shou201du2014itu2019s not clear that Binance would do anything about terror financing even if it did know.u23f8And make no mistake, Binanceu00a0doesu00a0know. In March, theu00a0civil suitu00a0filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) featured internal communications in which Binanceu2019s then-chief compliance officer joked about identifying u201cHAMAS transactionsu201d on the exchange. Despite this knowledge, thereu2019s no evidence that Binance did absolutely anything to stop these transactions or alert the relevant authorities.u23f8Binance isu00a0by no means the only exchangeu00a0to be utilized by terror groups. Last week, theu00a0Wall Street Journalu00a0reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad received millions of dollars via the Russia-basedu00a0Garantexu00a0exchange. Like Binance, Garantex has also helped move money on behalf of state-sponsored hackers andu00a0helped Russia dodge economic sanctions.u23f8This most recent action by Israeli authorities also saw them work with their U.K. counterparts to freeze an account at Barclays bank (NASDAQ: BCS) that Hamas was using to solicit donations. So, fiat currencyu2019s role in terror financing isnu2019t necessarily getting a pass.u23f8But Binance remains the Forrest Gump of crypto terror financing, seemingly never far from the action. So this latest connection to Hamasu2014and Binanceu2019s history ofu00a0enabling Iranian sanctions-dodging effortsu2014will only bolsteru00a0the DOJu2019s case against the exchangeu00a0and its founder,u00a0Changpeng u2018CZu2019 Zhao.u23f8Have axe, will grindu23f8Binanceu2019s U.S.-facing exchangeu00a0Binance.USu00a0is already struggling to keep its lights whileu00a0fighting U.S. regulatorsu00a0in federal courts, but even worse news may be in the pipeline. The latest Hamas financing revelations have lit a fire under Washington politicians who already had little love for all things u2018crypto.u2019u23f8Last Friday,u00a0Politicou00a0quoted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) saying u201cthe danger of crypto-financed terrorism is real and should be an urgent priority for Congress.u201d This summer, Warrenu00a0re-introduced a billu00a0she co-sponsored with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) that would tighten anti-money laundering controls on digital asset transactions. Warren called the latest Hamas revelationsu00a0u201ca wakeup call for lawmakersu201du00a0and is lobbying other senators to support her bill.u23f8Earlier this year, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) suggested Warrenu2019s bill didnu2019t have his full support. But Brown, who chairs the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, issuedu00a0a statementu00a0last week saying his committee plans to u201cexamine the financing behind Hamasu2019s attacks, including whether cryptocurrency was involved, and what additional economic tools we need to stop state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran, from supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups.u201du23f8Over at the House of Representatives, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of both the Financial Services and Intelligence committees, told Politico that u2018cryptou2019 operators need to articulate a legitimate reason for being, and they need to do it yesterday. u201cAs long as the use case is some weird combination of libertarian fantasies and drug dealers and terrorists, members of Congress are not going to be excited to give the industry the benefit of the doubt.u201du23f8Followu00a0u2019s Crypto Crime Cartelu00a0series, which delves into the stream of groupu2014fromu00a0BitMEXu00a0tou00a0Binance,u00a0Bitcoin.com,u00a0Blockstream,u00a0ShapeShift,u00a0Coinbase,u00a0Ripple,u23f8 Ethereum,u00a0FTXu00a0andu00a0Tetheru2014who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for nau00efve (and even experienced) players in the market.u23f8″,”metadata”:{“author”:”Steven Stradbrooke”},”pluginVersion”:”5.7.4″}; |
New revelations of ‘crypto’ terrorist financing are posing serious problems for those trying to drag the digital asset sector out of the cold and into the mainstream.
Last week, blockchain intelligence analysts TRM Labs issued a report aimed at ‘understanding how Hamas uses crypto.’ The report followed the attack by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on Israeli civilians earlier this month that U.S. President Joe Biden called the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
TRM’s report offered a historical view of Hamas’ embrace of digital assets as a way of raising funds outside traditional finance channels. As far back as 2019, Hamas’ military wing began soliciting a significant volume of BTC donations on Telegram before carving out dedicated spaces for such pitches on its official websites. These appeals expressly stated that funds raised would be utilized to commit acts of violence against Israel.
The following year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seized over 300 accounts and millions of dollars linked to crypto fundraising efforts by Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The DOJ took control of Hamas websites and continued to operate them covertly, allowing agents to trace the flow of funds back to their origin points.
Last week, CNN reported that the DOJ was still pursuing a criminal money laundering investigation based on information gleaned from these accounts. Arda Akartuna of United Kingdom-based blockchain analysts Elliptic told CNN that Hamas was among the “most successful initiators of crypto asset-based fundraising to date in terms of amount raised.”
Hamas announced in April that “hostile efforts” by law enforcement agencies meant it was halting its BTC fundraising efforts “out of concern about the safety of donors and to spare them any harm.” Despite that announcement, the following month saw Israeli authorities announce the seizure of 190 accounts on the Binance digital asset exchange suspected of belonging to Hamas and ISIS.
That was hardly the first time Binance has counted terrorists and their supporters among its customers. As far back as 2019, Israeli media linked Hamas funding to Binance accounts. In 2021, blockchain detectives tracked more BTC flowing from Hamas wallets to Binance.
That 2021 discovery coincided with a major Hamas fundraising effort following a new outbreak of violence between Hamas forces and the Israeli military. Hamas-controlled digital wallets received more than US$400,000 as a result of this campaign.
Looking the other way
While donations to Hamas tend to surge following outbreaks of violence, efforts by Hamas-linked entities to fundraise off the current crisis have so far proven less lucrative. Not that this has stopped Hamas from trying. Despite its earlier moratorium, Hamas followed up its recent attacks with new appeals on social media networks for donations in BTC or the USDT (Tether) stablecoin.
On October 10, Israel Police announced that the Cyber Unit of Lahav 433 (basically, Israel’s FBI) had “successfully frozen cryptocurrency accounts used by Hamas for fundraising.” The police credited assistance from the Ministry of Defense’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and other national intelligence units.
To no one’s surprise, the seized Hamas accounts were on Binance, which is said to have ‘cooperated’ with Israeli authorities in locking the accounts. Binance subsequently issued a statement saying it was “working in real-time, around the clock to support efforts to combat terror financing.”
The thing is, we’ve heard that before, with little evidence that Binance is doing anything other than acting after external agencies raise a stink. Until that call comes in, the exchange appears extremely disinterested in doing anything to disrupt the lawless free-for-all going on under their noses.
In May, when those 190 terror-linked accounts were seized by Israeli authorities, Binance pleaded helplessness, claiming that “bad actors don’t register accounts under the names of their criminal enterprises.” But given recent civil suits filed against Binance by U.S. regulatory agencies—in which Binance senior staff joked about their ‘know your customer’ policies being “fo sho”—it’s not clear that Binance would do anything about terror financing even if it did know.
And make no mistake, Binance does know. In March, the civil suit filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) featured internal communications in which Binance’s then-chief compliance officer joked about identifying “HAMAS transactions” on the exchange. Despite this knowledge, there’s no evidence that Binance did absolutely anything to stop these transactions or alert the relevant authorities.
Binance is by no means the only exchange to be utilized by terror groups. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad received millions of dollars via the Russia-based Garantex exchange. Like Binance, Garantex has also helped move money on behalf of state-sponsored hackers and helped Russia dodge economic sanctions.
This most recent action by Israeli authorities also saw them work with their U.K. counterparts to freeze an account at Barclays bank (NASDAQ: BCS) that Hamas was using to solicit donations. So, fiat currency’s role in terror financing isn’t necessarily getting a pass.
But Binance remains the Forrest Gump of crypto terror financing, seemingly never far from the action. So this latest connection to Hamas—and Binance’s history of enabling Iranian sanctions-dodging efforts—will only bolster the DOJ’s case against the exchange and its founder, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.
Have axe, will grind
Binance’s U.S.-facing exchange Binance.US is already struggling to keep its lights while fighting U.S. regulators in federal courts, but even worse news may be in the pipeline. The latest Hamas financing revelations have lit a fire under Washington politicians who already had little love for all things ‘crypto.’
Last Friday, Politico quoted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) saying “the danger of crypto-financed terrorism is real and should be an urgent priority for Congress.” This summer, Warren re-introduced a bill she co-sponsored with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) that would tighten anti-money laundering controls on digital asset transactions. Warren called the latest Hamas revelations “a wakeup call for lawmakers” and is lobbying other senators to support her bill.
Earlier this year, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) suggested Warren’s bill didn’t have his full support. But Brown, who chairs the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, issued a statement last week saying his committee plans to “examine the financing behind Hamas’s attacks, including whether cryptocurrency was involved, and what additional economic tools we need to stop state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran, from supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups.”
Over at the House of Representatives, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of both the Financial Services and Intelligence committees, told Politico that ‘crypto’ operators need to articulate a legitimate reason for being, and they need to do it yesterday. “As long as the use case is some weird combination of libertarian fantasies and drug dealers and terrorists, members of Congress are not going to be excited to give the industry the benefit of the doubt.”
Follow Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the stream of group—from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple,
Ethereum, FTX and Tether—who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for naïve (and even experienced) players in the market.
New to blockchain? Check out ’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.