Blockchain forensic firm Elliptic has refuted recent allegations suggesting that Hamas is accumulating millions in cryptocurrency donations to support its attacks against Israel. In a statement released on October 25, Elliptic declared, “There is no evidence to support the assertion that Hamas has received significant volumes of crypto donations.” The firm went on to emphasize that the amounts raised by the organization through cryptocurrencies “remain tiny.”
The statement from Elliptic serves as a counterargument to articles and letters circulating among the media and U.S. lawmakers, particularly those published by The Wall Street Journal. According to Elliptic, these sources have misinterpreted data, leading to the erroneous claim that cryptocurrency is extensively used to finance Hamas’ “terrorist” activities.
One example highlighted by Elliptic is a Hamas cryptocurrency fundraising campaign operated by Gaza Now, a pro-Hamas news outlet. Despite being labeled as “prominent,” this campaign has reportedly raised a modest $21,000 since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. Of this amount, $9,000 was frozen by stablecoin issuer Tether, and an additional $2,000 was frozen after being sent to a cryptocurrency exchange, presumably for conversion.
Elliptic also disclosed that it reached out to The Wall Street Journal to correct a statement that initially asserted that over $130 million in cryptocurrency was raised by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad between August 2021 and June 2023. The WSJ later revised the figure to “as much as $93 million” in an update on October 10.
The original WSJ article, cited in a letter from Elizabeth Warren and over 100 other U.S. lawmakers to the White House and U.S. Department of the Treasury on October 17, argued that cryptocurrency poses a “national security threat.” The lawmakers called for “strong action” from Congress and the Biden administration to address risks associated with cryptocurrencies facilitating illicit activity, expressing concerns about potential financing of future tragedies through digital assets.
