There is insider trading, then there is the bucket shop, and then there is cryptocurrency, which is so dodgy and so insecure that Hamas has decided it will no longer accept crypto.
It appears that cryptocurrency in general, and Bitcoin in particular are insufficiently secure to be used by money launderers.
Today, the Al-Qassam Brigades (AQB) announced the shutdown of their longstanding cryptocurrency donation program. AQB is the military wing of Hamas, and is designated as a terrorist organization by virtually all western countries for its attacks and military operations against Israel and its allies.
For years, AQB has used cryptocurrency donations as a means to raise funds while circumventing the traditional financial system, from which the organization is largely cut off. AQB has historically set up websites and social media campaigns to solicit these donations, providing specific donation addresses for sympathetic readers and even providing detailed instructions on how to acquire and send cryptocurrency without alerting authorities.
We’ve previously analyzed some of AQB’s cryptocurrency donation campaigns, finding that the group has raised tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency through these efforts. Notably, AQB’s donation campaigns increased in sophistication over time in response to law enforcement pressure, beginning with simple, static addresses hosted at mainstream exchanges and eventually progressing to wallets that could generate unique addresses for each donor.
Today, however, AQB’s official website displayed a new message announcing the end of its crypto donation efforts, citing successful government efforts to identify and prosecute donors. You can see that post below, in both the original Arabic and an English translation.
If cryptocurrency is insufficiently secure to be used for illicit purposes like dodging sanctions, dealing drugs, and terrorism, why does it exist at all?
Shutting this whole corrupt enterprise down would be a very good thing.
Why we aren't treating cryptocurrency as
H/t Molly White.
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