Hamas Armed Wing Announces Suspension of Bitcoin Collection

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) – The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said on Thursday it would stop accepting fundraising via the cryptocurrency bitcoin, a method it has used for years, citing an increase in “hostile” activity against donors.

“This comes out of concern for the safety of donors and to spare them harm,” the group said in a statement late Thursday, adding that it had seen increased efforts to prevent people and groups from sending bitcoin funds to it.

The group, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Gaza’s most powerful armed faction that has fought several wars with Israel over many years, renewed its call for “continued donation to Qassam and the resistance by all available means.”

The Israeli military, contacted by Reuters, declined to comment on the Hamas statement.

Politicians and regulators around the world have for years expressed concern over the illegal use of crypto, from money laundering to the financing of terrorism. Bitcoin and other crypto tokens offer high levels of anonymity, which makes them attractive to criminals.

However, developments in technology that track the movement of crypto on the blockchain ledger have made it easier for authorities to identify those behind crypto transfers. Many large crypto exchanges now also run ID checks on clients.

Hamas had supported crypto as a fundraising method for years, previously developing sophisticated tactics to solicit bitcoin donations.

The group does not disclose where its financial resources come from, but leaders have often cited donations from individuals across the Muslim world as a key source. Iran has also always been a major economic and military supporter of the group, according to officials from both sides.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. This means that in the US, for example, it is illegal to give it money or training, with financial firms in control of related funds obliged to report them to authorities.

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In 2020, the United States broke up efforts by the military wing of Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to raise funds via cryptocurrency, seizing about $2 million worth of crypto.

Gaza economist Mohammad Abu Jayyab told Reuters the Hamas decision suggested it may have felt Israel could reveal the identities of donors or reach their wallets, and so sought to protect them.

“They may also have preferred to go back to old traditional methods, or perhaps they figured out more advanced ones,” he added.

(Reporting by Nidal Almughrabi; Additional reporting by Tom Wilson in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson)