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Hamas Sees Surge in Donations Through Bitcoin: Report
An unidentified Hamas official said there has been a "spike" in the past month, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:05 p.m. Published Jun 3, 2021, 1:45 p.m.
Hamas has witnessed a surge in donations in bitcoin since the outbreak of armed conflict with Israel at the start of May, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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- "There was definitely a spike" in bitcoin donations, according to an unidentified Hamas official quoted by WSJ Wednesday.
- The Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip is considered a terrorist organization by many countries in the West and must turn to means outside mainstream financial system for funding.
- The Hamas official did not disclose how much had been received but said it was rising as a proportion of overall donations.
- Association between bitcoin and Hamas funding is nothing new. Israeli blockchain analytics firm Whitestream identified it in February 2019.
- Civilian businesses in Gaza also find cryptocurrencies useful. One developer told CoinDesk in August 2019 that some offices "do $5 million to $6 million a month."
Read more: Crypto Is Spared Scapegoat Treatment in US Hearing on Terror Financing
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