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Ali Rogin:

Experts in terrorist financing say the military wing of Hamas was an early adopter of cryptocurrency soliciting Bitcoin donation starting in 2019. Hamas told supporters that the transactions were anonymous, but all cryptocurrency exchanges are recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain, that allowed the Department of Justice to confiscate 150 crypto accounts associated with Hamas al-Qassam brigades in 2020.

In April 2023, Hamas announced it would stop Bitcoin fundraising efforts, but as the Treasury Department's new sanctions show, terrorist groups, including Hamas, al Qaeda and ISIS are still finding ways to use cryptocurrency exchanges to raise and launder money and evade detection.

I'm joined now by Ari Redbord. He's the Global Head of policy at TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics company that helps protect organizations against crypto related fraud and financial crime. He's also a former senior Treasury official, and a former federal prosecutor. Ari, thank you so much for joining us.

Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy, TRM Labs: Hey, thank you so much for having me.

Excerpt from:
The role of cryptocurrency in financing terrorism - PBS NewsHour