The use of cryptocurrencies by Hamas and other extremist groups, while significant, pales in comparison to the amount of cryptocurrencies used by other illegal actors. For example, Hamas has raised $41 million in cryptocurrencies over the past two years, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad has raised $91 million. According to last week’s report, wall street journal It cited analysis by a cryptocurrency tracking firm and seizure by the Israeli government.
However, it is unclear how much of these funds actually went to these groups before being seized. In fact, Hamas asked donors to stop using cryptocurrencies in April 2023, citing the public nature of blockchain transactions and the risk of prosecution. Chaineries, a cryptocurrency tracking company that frequently works with government and law enforcement clients, has gone so far as to: Publish a blog post Yesterday, it warned against faulty analyzes that overestimate the role of cryptocurrencies in funding organizations like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In contrast, North Korean state-sponsored cybercriminals, Russian ransomware gangs, and other criminal groups are increasing their numbers through theft of cryptocurrencies and the use of technology as a means to demand extortion payments from victims. I’ve earned a billion dollars. Thieves stole $3.8 billion in crypto assets last year, much of it going to the North Korean regime, and ransomware hackers extorted nearly $450 million in the first half of 2023 alone, according to Chainalysis.
These criminals are frequent users of cryptocurrency mixing services, funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into mixing services such as ChipMixer and Sinbad.io. Indeed, U.S. law enforcement and the Treasury Department have aggressively sanctioned or shut down one mixer service after another in recent years, including Blender, TornadoCash, and Bitzlato, alleging that they launder the profits of North Korean and Russian hackers. It is often cited as being used for
Jason Somensat, Chainalysis’ North American public policy director, said the new FinCEN rules will not be as harsh as these sanctions, prosecutions and arrests, and will be a new regulatory process rather than a ban, but will be much broader in scope. Stated. “The impact could be even more far-reaching,” Soumensat said. “They can say this applies to:” all It’s about mixing services that people interact with. ”
Although the Ministry of Finance is stepping up efforts to combat crypto-based money laundering, and Hamas is currently the new driving force behind the crackdown, TRM Institute’s Redboard said the U.S. regulators have warned that such services should not be criticized too harshly. In some cases, it provides financial privacy to authorized users. After all, without a mixer, most cryptocurrency transactions are essentially completely public. “The challenge for regulators is how to thread the needle between preventing illegal actors from using these platforms, while at the same time enabling ordinary users some degree of privacy. I think so,” Redboard said. “I think the concern is that this could very well be throwing out the baby with the bath water.”
