Israel has intensified efforts to disrupt Hamas’ access to cryptocurrency market.
Financial Times reported that, since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, dozens of cryptocurrency accounts have been closed and millions of dollars’ worth of crypto coins were seized.
More than 100 accounts were affiliated with Binance. The recent activities have sparked significant discussions.
Binance stated that it had “blocked” a few accounts recently, adhering to “internationally recognized sanctions rules.”
“The amount of crypto funds has super-increased since the attack began,” said Tom Alexandrovich of the Israel National Cyber Directorate.
Separately, Tether has also announced the freezing of 32 addresses connected to unrest in Israel and Ukraine, holding over $873,000.
Israeli law enforcement documents have identified approximately 150 donation campaigns linked to Hamas over the past 11 days. Israeli authorities claim that the Hamas strike on Israel on 7th October was financed through cryptocurrency donations.
A lawsuit by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in March had earlier implicated Binance in transactions associated with Hamas.
“Every time Hamas publishes an address for donations, the company has to go back and find all the Binance customers that have had exposure to this address,” said a Binance staff member on the increasing volume of their work since the attacks.
Public collaboration is being sought by Israeli authorities to monitor suspicious crypto fund movements.
Following a shutdown in June, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant remarked on the complexities of curbing terror financing involving digital currencies.
The Financial Stability Board is among the global entities crafting strategies to offset terrorist financing in digital assets.
There have been requests for information about 200 other accounts, primarily on Binance.
© 2023 Zenger News.com. Zenger News does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Produced in association with Benzinga
