Hamas' Military Wing to Stop Accepting Bitcoin Donations: Report
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said the move is to protect donors from harm.
Apr 28, 2023 at 11:19 a.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/RFTC37OA2NFXVPJDPFDXRQCU5E.jpg)
Fighters of Ezz al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas (Fatima Shbair/Getty Images)
The outlet cited a message posted to a Telegram group believed to be run by the military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and U.K., has been accepting bitcoin donations for some time, apparently using platforms like Binance to launder proceeds until the wallet was frozen.
The Brigades said in the Telegram post that it will halt bitcoin donations for "the safety of the donors ... especially in light of the intensification of the prosecution and the doubling of the hostile effort against anyone who tries to support the resistance through this currency."
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
:format(webp)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/coindesk/9c8b3491-ddb0-4e4a-8964-81cb59954944.png)
Sandali Handagama is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for policy and regulations, EMEA. She does not own any crypto.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.