Hamas Needed a New Way to Get Money From Iran. It Turned to Crypto.

The Wall Street Journal: Hamas, after losing a key financial commander to an Israeli military strike in 2019, shifted its strategy for receiving funds from Iran by adopting digital currencies. Led by Zuhair Shamlakh, this new approach involved using cryptocurrencies to manage the hawala network’s balances and receive substantial sums from Iran. This pivot to digital currencies aimed to reduce the risks associated with moving physical money.

Israeli and U.S. officials noted that Hamas and its affiliate, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, received large sums via this method in the two years leading up to the attacks on Israel. Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF) responded by seizing crypto funds linked to Gazan exchanges involved in these transactions. Significant amounts of cryptocurrency were traced to these exchanges, with a considerable portion believed to be for Hamas.

Hamas’s move to crypto began as a small-scale donation effort but grew into a major channel for large-scale transfers from Iran. This shift has increased scrutiny on the cryptocurrency industry for its potential role in financing terrorism. Despite efforts to disrupt this financial network, the Gazan exchange network remains active, indicating the ongoing challenge of combating digital currency use in terrorist financing.

The entire article can be read at the link Hamas Needed a New Way to Get Money From Iran. It Turned to Crypto. – WSJ