Key Points:
- Elliptic disputes the Wall Street Journal’s claims that Hamas raised millions in cryptocurrency.
- The company argues that the data has been misinterpreted and the actual amount raised is much lower.
- American lawmakers have seized the opportunity to question the Biden administration about the risks associated with cryptocurrency.
The Wall Street Journal, one of the most reputable media outlets in the United States, recently reported that Hamas had raised millions in cryptocurrency to fund its terrorist activities. However, Elliptic, a blockchain analysis firm, released a statement on October 25th refuting these allegations. According to Elliptic, there is “no evidence” that Hamas has received millions of dollars in cryptocurrency donations.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the cryptocurrency fundraising has yielded an amount anywhere near that figure, and the data provided by Elliptic and others has been misinterpreted.”
– according to Elliptic’s new report
This statement follows the information reported by the Wall Street Journal in an article published on October 10th titled: “Hamas militants behind Israeli attack raised millions in crypto“. This same article was then cited by several American lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren. They referenced the article in a letter addressed to the Biden administration regarding the use of cryptocurrencies by terrorist groups.
In its report, Elliptic highlighted that these allegations were based on misinterpreted data. The analysis firm states that the crypto fundraising campaign, managed by the pro-Hamas media outlet “Gaza Now,” has only raised $21,000 since the recent Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. Furthermore, most of these funds have been frozen by Stablecoin issuer Tether.
Elliptic Calls on Wall Street to Correct Its Mistake
A few hours after the controversial article was published, Elliptic wasted no time in responding. The company directly contacted the Wall Street Journal to request a correction of the erroneous information: “We have spoken with representatives of the lead signatory, Senator Warren, as well as the authors of the Wall Street Journal article, to clarify this point.”
Elliptic also highlighted the limitations of cryptocurrency as a tool for terrorist financing, explaining that the transparent nature of the blockchain allows experts and analysts to trace suspicious transactions and even connect them to certain organizations.
Finally, while cryptocurrency is often presented as a means for terrorist groups to bypass traditional financial systems, the data does not always support this claim. It is crucial to add some nuance to what you may read, especially when these perceptions can influence the opinions of so many people.
