US Justice Department Seizes $201,400 in Cryptocurrency from Hamas

The US Justice Department has reported that it has seized over $200,000 worth of cryptocurrency. This seizure is part of an ongoing effort to disrupt the fundraising activities of the terrorist organization Hamas. The seized amount, totaling $201,400, was tracked from wallets associated with Hamas' crypto fundraising efforts. These wallets have been used to launder over $1.5 million, with the laundering process allegedly starting in October 2024. The crypto laundering involved the use of multiple virtual currency exchanges and leveraged suspected financiers and over-the-counter brokers. The digital currencies were spread out over 17 addresses, and the US Justice Department provided a related seizure warrant for this initiative.

These efforts come after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control placed sanctions on facilitators of Hamas crypto holdings. This included networks, exchanges, and any financial entity that had played a role in these transactions. These sanctions were announced in January 2024 and were accompanied by similar sanctions from various countries. There was also a previously placed set of sanctions in 2023, which these new sanctions expanded and built upon.

Hamas' crypto holdings have been growing for years, as evidenced by a history of legal battles and sanctions. For instance, a lawsuit against Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao was brought to court in January 2024. Families of three victims of a Hamas attack on Israel were involved in this case. This lawsuit was opened because it was alleged that Binance had helped Hamas’ crypto accumulation efforts. In defense, the lawyer representing Binance and its CEO stated that they had no particular connection to Hamas. There are also many more legal cases that involve anti-money laundering efforts and fines from the USA’s government. One of the biggest of such cases, which also involved the lack of anti-money laundering control, ended in November 2023. In this case, Binance reached a settlement with the DOJ for $4.3 billion.

Based on a report from the Congressional Research Service, published in December 2024, Hamas has been gathering crypto for years. This report highlights that the terrorist organization has been seeking crypto donations since 2019. However, this report could not find any evidence that shows how much crypto donations were gathered. As such, the US has been increasingly becoming strict with money laundering laws and their enforcement. As reports come in about more terrorist groups using digital assets, some officials are looking to tighten anti-money laundering laws. However, it is worth noting that most financial activity in the crypto space is proven to be legitimate.

Data and market analysis show that terrorism-related crypto transactions are a small part of the crypto space. This comes from a 2023 report by the research firm Chainalysis, which has analyzed the financial movements of such organizations. According to this research, most terrorist groups still prefer to use traditional funding methods. These criminal groups’ activities also show that they still like to use fiat for their financial needs. So, as such, the world of crypto is vast and dynamic, and with a scope comes bad actors and criminals.