The US, UK and Australia have tightened sanctions on crypto operators linked to Hamas.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced new sanctions on “networks and facilitators” of crypto transactions linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In a January 22 announcement, Ofco said it was imposing a fifth round of sanctions on Hamas following the group's October 7 attacks on Israel. The Treasury said it was targeting financial facilitators who “played a key role” in funneling crypto funds to Hamas.

Brian Nelson, Treasury Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said: “Hamas has attempted to use a variety of financial transfer methods, including cryptocurrency exploitation, to support the group's terrorist activities.

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Members of the Shamlah family are among those named in OFCO's Specially Designated Nationals list, behind a money changer in Gaza that funnels tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hamas, and the Herzallah exchange, which has worked with Hamas to facilitate transactions. Crypto. No specific crypto addresses are listed in the block.

The sanctions build on previously announced OFAC actions stemming from the Oct. 7 attacks on Hamas-linked crypto operators. Some media, including The Wall Street Journal, have reported on the group's ties to crypto-funding networks, but some experts have suggested that their claims may be exaggerated. The WSJ later published a correction.

Magazine: Terrorism and the Israel-Gaza War Weaponized to Destroy Crypto.