Elliptic analysts reported that the use of cryptocurrencies to finance terrorists is extremely small – Hamas has received no more than $21,000 since October 7, with most of the cryptocurrencies blocked.

Let us recall that on October 7 there was an attack by Hamas militants on Israel. Against this backdrop, concerns have once again arisen that cryptocurrencies are being used to finance such terrorist operations. However, as Elliptic analysts reported, only $21,000 has entered Hamas wallets since October 7, and a significant portion of the funds has been blocked.

Elliptic notes that Hamas began receiving cryptocurrency donations back in 2019, with April 2021 seeing its peak influx of funds. However, in April 2023, the movement ceased all public cryptocurrency activities due to “concerns about the safety of its sponsors.” The militants emphasized that they “constantly see actions against those who support resistance with the help of cryptocurrencies.”

“This shows the failure of cryptocurrencies as a tool for financing terrorism. The transparency of the blockchain makes it possible to track illegal funds and, often, identify the identities of wallet owners,” noted Elliptic experts.

Thus, after the attack began on October 7, the Gaza Now organization announced a large-scale fundraising campaign in cryptocurrencies. Since then, the organizations have transferred $21,000. However, $9,000 of these funds were blocked by the stablecoin operator Tether, and another $2,000 was blocked by an unnamed exchange during an attempt to withdraw.

At the same time, the use of cryptocurrencies for humanitarian purposes is much higher. For example, the organization Crypto Aid Israel received $185,000 in various cryptocurrencies from October 7 to October 19.

Various officials often talk about the use of cryptocurrencies to finance terrorism. However, so far no analytical firm has confirmed the scale of this phenomenon.