In recent news, the terrorist affiliated organization Hamas will no longer accept donations in cryptocurrency form. The decision was made following an announcement from the military wing of the organization known as Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades on the Telegram channel. The channel stated that the donations needed to be stopped for the sake of their donor's safety amid the intensified effort against those who support Hamas.

The Telegram post referred to Hamas’s ongoing problems with authorities regarding its Bitcoin (BTC) donations in 2021. The Israeli government had managed to confiscate 84 digital wallets belonging to the organization, holding a mix of crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Cardano, Stellar, Ripple, and Ethereum. The accumulated cryptocurrencies were estimated to be worth several millions of dollars.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has been facing some of the toughest economic sanctions imposed by the Israeli government ever since the militant group took control of the land in 2007. This has substantively reduced the amount of resources the Gaza Strip receives for the purpose of public health, infrastructure, and education. As a result, the charitable entity of Hamas has been utilizing the cryptocurrency blockchain technology in an effort to look for donation opportunities from those who sympathize with their cause from all over the world.

Though the idea of donations in cryptocurrency has provided a certain degree of anonymity, Hamas’s activities have managed to capture the attention of the Israeli government which aims to gather intelligence on the organization’s activities. The news of the suspension of donations in cryptocurrencies will come as a major blow to Hamas’s means of private income. It is an attempt to try and prevent the unauthorized flow of money and bar the militants from accessing funds used for sponsoring terror activities.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades stated in the Telegram post that it must look for alternative means of garnering funds to be able to "protect the resistance" and its supporters despite the heightened surveillance from the Israeli officials. As of now, it is still uncertain what those alternative means of crowdfunding will be.



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