- The FBI has seized over $200,000 in cryptocurrency from wallets and exchange accounts linked to Hamas.
- Since October 2023, more than $1.5 million in crypto donations has flowed through the seized Hamas-connected wallets.
- Hamas has been using cryptocurrency since at least 2020 to avoid physical cash transport risks and evade financial monitoring.
FBI officials have seized cryptocurrency valued at more than $200,000 from wallets and exchange accounts connected to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union. The seizure, announced Thursday, targeted funds that were part of more than $1.5 million in crypto donations that had moved through these accounts since October 2023.
According to the Justice Department’s announcement, the seized assets included approximately $90,000 from several cryptocurrency wallets and an additional $112,000 from three exchange accounts. These accounts were registered to Palestinian individuals residing in Turkey and other unspecified locations.
The wallet addresses came to authorities’ attention after being promoted in a group chat claiming affiliation with Hamas. Investigators determined that supporters worldwide had been making donations to these addresses, with the funds subsequently laundered through a complex series of cryptocurrency exchanges and transactions.
U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. of the District of Columbia emphasized the government’s determination to disrupt terrorist financing. “These seizures show that this office will search high and low for every cent of money going to fund Hamas, wherever it is found, and in whatever form of currency,” Martin stated. “Hamas is responsible for the death of many U.S. and Israeli nationals, and we will stop at nothing to stop their campaign of terror and murder.”
This action follows previous efforts by multiple governments to target Hamas’s cryptocurrency operations. In April 2023, Israel’s Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) seized nearly 200 cryptocurrency accounts tied to Palestinian currency exchanges. According to research from blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, the NBCTF has confiscated “tens of millions” of dollars in crypto from Hamas-linked accounts in recent years.
The U.S. Treasury Department has previously identified that Hamas began utilizing cryptocurrency as early as 2020. This digital financing strategy serves two primary purposes for the organization: reducing the risks associated with physically transporting cash and circumventing traditional financial monitoring systems that might flag their transactions.
The U.S. Treasury and other foreign governments have also implemented sanctions against Hamas-linked financial networks and individuals facilitating cryptocurrency transfers to the organization, part of a broader strategy to isolate the group financially.
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