- Israel froze crypto accounts to block funding for Hamas after the attack
- Legislators asked Biden to probe the digital assets held by Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad
- The US Treasury sanctioned a crypto exchange based in Gaza
Bipartisan House of Representatives lawmakers are looking into the value of the digital assets owned by terrorist groups like Hamas after the Gaza-based group attacked Israel a month ago, Fox News reported.
Terror-linked wallets received crypto worth $134M in 2 years
The initiative comes around a month after senators swore to establish what role crypto played in the attacks. In a letter to President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, legislators cited reports that Islamic Jihad-linked digital wallets received about $93 million and Hamas-linked digital wallets received about $41 million between August 2021 and June 2023.
However, it remains unclear whether any of these assets are still held by the terrorist organizations. In April this year, Hamas closed its digital asset fundraising campaign, citing the ability of government officials to identify donors.
Legislators told Fox News:
We request the White House and the Treasury utilize the open blockchain ledger to assess the footprint of Hamas’ digital asset fundraising campaign. In doing this, Congress can better understand the United States’ available tools and capabilities to target bad actors on blockchain and support legitimate digital asset use and innovation.
Israel froze Chinese and Russian crypto accounts
The Financial Times wrote that Israel had ordered a freeze on crypto accounts in a bid to block funding for Hamas in the wake of the attack. Reportedly, they also seized crypto assets and other digital assets from accounts associated with Hamas. Some of these accounts were on platforms based in China and Russia.
Lawmakers want the US to block or seize assets
Legislators asked Biden and Yellen to probe the value of digital assets held by Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and similar movements. They want them to respond by November 29. Apart from answering their questions, they want them to take action, such as seizing or blocking the assets.
In an October press release, the Treasury stated that their actions were aimed at a Qatar-based financial group with close ties to Iran, members managing assets in a secret Hamas investment portfolio, a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator, and a key Hamas commander.
The aftermath of the attack
In the October 7 attack on Israel, Hamas killed at least 1,200 civilians according to data Israel Defense Forces shared with the Associated Press. Last month, the US Treasury sanctioned 10 entities associated with Hamas, which included a crypto exchange based in Gaza. The attack also impacted certain token prices.
