Israel Seizes Millions in Crypto Assets From Hamas

Israeli officials have taken action to seize cryptocurrencies from 84 wallet addresses. These addresses could possibly be holding millions of dollars worth of cryptos. More so, the officials say that the addresses most likely belong to Hamas.

The militant, nationalist group has made gains from cashing in on Bitcoin in the past. However, it seems this time, the 84 wallet addresses are holding a variety of different cryptos.

According to files from the National Bureau for Counter Terrorist Financing, these assets include Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Moreover, other assets include, Cardano (ADA), Stellar (XLM), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), and Tron (TRX). Additionally, the wallet addresses also held a stablecoin — Tether (USDT).

More so, Elliptic, the notable tracing firm, says that the wallets should be holding well over $7.7 million in total value. To add, the co-founder of Elliptic — Tom Robinson, says,

A number of them are deposit addresses at exchanges, while others belong to brokers.

Out of the total $7.7 million, $4.1 million is in USDT. In addition, $3.4 million is in the form of Bitcoin. Moreover, $165,000 is in TRX value, and, $51,000 is in ETH. Also, DOGE accounts for $40,000.

Elliptic adds that the seizure order is proof that Hamas is now using crypto as its latest option to draw and store value to further fund its agenda and mission.

Finally, Benny Gantz, Israel’s Defence Minister, gave the order to seize the digital assets. In fact, he did so after he was supposedly certain about the wallets being linked to the group. He further emphasizes the importance of seizing the assets to ensure order.

Source: https://coinquora.com/israel-seizes-millions-in-crypto-assets-from-hamas/