Elizabeth Warren uses Hamas as her new scapegoat in the war on crypto.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is at it again. With sensational headlines from major press outlets including Germany's Deutsche Welle — “How cryptocurrency fueled Hamas terror attacks” — Warren is using Hamas' attacks on Israel to fuel her own war on cryptocurrency.
Crypto's role in the conflict came into focus on October 10, when Israeli police stopped crypto accounts used to donate to Hamas. It wasn't the first time. In the year In 2021, Israel's Terrorist Financing Task Force (NBCTF) seized crypto wallets linked to a Hamas fundraising campaign.
As Binance worked “closely with international counter-terrorism authorities” on the attack, Warren led a group of more than 100 US lawmakers in a letter urging the Biden administration to take action against Hamas and its affiliates' cryptocurrency wallets – despite the company's relative struggle to use crypto as part of its fundraising efforts. To raise.
“Congress and this administration must take strong action to comprehensively address the dangers of crypto-illegal financing before it is used to fund another tragedy,” the letter said.
Hamas raised millions through crypto in the months leading up to its attacks on Israel. @RogerMarshallMD, @RepCasten and I are leading 100+ lawmakers in demanding the Biden administration address crypto-financed terrorism. https://t.co/JksREJ3Dgs
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 18, 2023
The lawmakers asked the Biden administration to release the value of crypto assets remaining in Hamas-controlled wallets, how much of Hamas operations are funded through crypto, and any information on actors facilitating crypto shipments. from Hamas and other militant groups.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned a Gaza-based crypto-broker “Buy Cash and Money Transfer Company (Buy Cash)” on October 18, saying it was used for $2,000 worth of Bitcoin transactions – a small amount compared to hundreds of millions. The money available. Dollars used to finance Hamas. One authorized wallet had $16.
Politico reports that the Treasury Department has sanctioned a wallet linked to Hamas, “as the role of crypto in funding Hamas's activities has become a major issue for lawmakers.”
Authorized wallet has $16 and last transfer was 18 months ago pic.twitter.com/IbsGfyZ3zl
— Conor (@jconorgrogan) October 18, 2023
“We will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent Hamas terrorists from raising funds and terrorizing the people of Israel,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. This includes monitoring, blocking, and seizing Hamas-related assets in their territory through imposing sanctions and coordinating with allies and partners.
Terrorist use of cryptocurrency is incredibly overrated. The dollar remains a key tool for currency speculators, with crypto playing a relatively minor role. Why would terrorists use blockchain when the transactions can be tracked? Furthermore, terrorists don't need crypto much when they can launder aid funds from the international community. The United Nations spent nearly $4.5 billion in Gaza in 2014-2020, including $600 million in 2020 alone, even as Hamas allegedly turned EU-funded water pipes into homemade rockets.
Elliptic.co, a blockchain-analysis provider, indicated in a report this month that Hamas was accepting cryptocurrency around the time of the attack. However, Hamas has not used crypto as its primary source of funding, choosing instead to use the banking system, financial services businesses, and informal “hawala” transfers. This global financial network funnels money from charities and friendly countries to Hamas. Hamas started monetizing crypto in 2019 through its Telegram channel. The group now uses payment processors to generate crypto addresses and hide cryptocurrency wallets.
Given the variety of ways in which these organizations acquire funds, most counterterrorism efforts should not focus on terrorist use of cryptocurrency. “There is no single financing mechanism for Hamas or other terrorist organizations. They are opportunistic and adaptive,” former CIA analyst Yaya Fanousse, now an assistant senior fellow at the Center for New American Security, said in an interview with CNN. “The effort to stop them is a constant game of cat and mouse.”
Due to the transparent nature of crypto, it has been proven that Hamas has no secrets when it comes to using crypto, as made clear by the recent crypto freezing. While using crypto, Hamas generally accepts small-dollar donations, which ultimately represent a small slice of the organization's massive $300 million annual budget. It would be disingenuous to state that terrorist use of crypto is a credible threat relative to the fiat-based funds circulating in these organizations.
Warren's anti-crypto pet project seems like a red herring and ultimately derails more fruitful discussions about how terrorist organizations raise money through the traditional financial system.
Kadan Stadelman is a blockchain developer and Chief Technology Officer of Comodo Platform. He graduated from the University of Vienna in 2011 with a degree in Information Technology. He joined the Komodo team in 2016.
This article is not intended for general information purposes and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. The views, ideas and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
