This October, a series of articles and letters circulated in the media to crucify cryptocurrencies to the gallows of terrorism. Signed by around a hundred anti-crypto American legislators, these writings pushed the US Treasury Department to once again attack cryptocurrency mixers. To set the record straight, Elliptic responds to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) allegations, denouncing inaccuracy and exaggeration.
“There is no evidence that Hamas received so many donations in cryptocurrencies”
This Wednesday, October 25, the blockchain legal analysis company, Elliptic, published a blog article aimed at deconstructing the anti-crypto narrative propagated by the WSJ. The WSJ had claimed that cryptocurrencies had helped finance Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for $130 million between August 2021 and June 2023. Chainalysis was quick to deflate these estimates, noting that these cryptocurrency transfers were not specifically linked to terrorism.
In turn, Elliptic draws and hammers “that there is no evidence to support the assertion that Hamas received significant volumes of cryptocurrency donations.” She recalled that, since 2021, the Israeli National Office to Combat Terrorism Financing has ordered the seizure and freezing of crypto wallets linked to Hamas.
Elliptic’s blockchain surveillance experts therefore believe that the accusations made by the WSJ and US lawmakers against cryptos come from a misinterpretation of the data.
Cryptos are traceable and therefore not suitable for financing terrorism
Elliptic said it contacted the WSJ to ask it to correct its estimates. The media outlet revised it by replacing its estimate of $130 million with the phrase “up to $93 million.”
Dissatisfied with this correction, Elliptic experts say that the amount of crypto collected by Hamas “is minimal compared to other sources of funding.” Elliptic also reveals that Hamas has interrupted all bitcoin donation collections since April 2023.
The company reported that Hamas’ largest donation drive since the October 7 attack only raised $21,000 worth of crypto. Elliptic also specifies that of this sum, $9,000 worth of cryptocurrencies were frozen by the Tether company.
According to Elliptic, all this proves that cryptocurrencies are not suitable for fundraising campaigns for terrorism. Regardless, the crypto market does not appear to have been affected by this anti-crypto campaign. Until then, bitcoin continues to hover around $34,600 after several months below the $30,000 support.
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