- Elliptic stated it contacted the WSJ to clarify a previous statement over huge funding.
- The analytics firm denied claims that Hamas had received large crypto donations.
According to Elliptic, a blockchain analytics company, there is “no evidence” that Hamas is using crypto donations to finance attacks against Israel. Elliptic issued a statement on October 25 denying claims that Hamas had received large amounts of cryptocurrency donations. “Remain tiny,” the company said of the funds raised.
The statement from Elliptic was meant to be a reaction to previous stories and letters from the WSJ and U.S. politicians, who, according to Elliptic, utilized skewed statistics to support the claim that crypto is frequently used to finance Hamas’ “terrorist” operations.
National Security Threat Claims
Elliptic cited the $21,000 received by a “prominent” crypto fundraising drive for Hamas, run by Gaza Now, a pro-Hamas news portal, following Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7. The blockchain forensic platform noted that $9000 of the $21,000 raised was frozen by USDT stablecoin issuer Tether, and another $2000 was frozen after being sent to a crypto exchange.
Elliptic stated it contacted the WSJ to clarify a previous statement that stated Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had raised over $130M in crypto between August 2021 and June 2023. On October 10th, the WSJ updated its initial report to read “as much as $93 million.”
On October 17, Elizabeth Warren and more than a hundred other U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to the White House and the United States Department of the Treasury, referencing the WSJ article. Warren and other legislators argued that crypto is a “national security threat” to the United States and its closest allies, and that “strong action” was needed from Congress and the Biden administration.
Highlighted Crypto News Today:
Grayscale’s GBTC Soars 220% in 2023 Amidst ETF Conversion Prospects
