Elliptic Says WSJ And Elizabeth Warren Wrong To Claim That Hamas Raises Millions Via Crypto

Updated: 26 October 2023

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Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has said there is no evidence that militant group Hamas raised millions of dollars of funds via crypto to help fund its attacks on Israel.

“Over the past two weeks, politicians and journalists have portrayed public crypto fundraising as a significant source of funds for Hamas and other terrorist groups, but the data simply does not support this,” the report said. “The amounts raised remain tiny compared to other funding sources.”

Setting the record straight on crypto crowdfunding by Hamas https://t.co/1tZrE1C43V

— Elliptic (@elliptic) October 25, 2023

Elliptic specifically debunked an Oct. 10 article by the Wall Street Journal that claimed that Hamas militants raised millions in crypto.

Its report initially claimed Hamas received $130 million worth of crypto donations between August 2021 and June 2023, but later corrected the report to say the amount raised was “as much as $93 million.”

Elliptic said it also reached out to Senator Elizabeth Warren for clarity on an Oct. 17 letter sent to the White House that cited the WSJ article.

“Elliptic has engaged with the Wall Street Journal to correct misinterpretations of the level of crypto fundraising by Hamas,” it said. “We have been in discussions with the office of Senator Warren to ensure that the relevant parties have a proper appreciation of the complexities and nuances of analyzing these wallets.”

🚨🚨🚨

~20% of US Congress signed a letter based on incorrect facts. Elliptic just corrected the facts. Will @WSJ & the ~20% of Congress correct their statements now?@nic__carter, thank you for demanding truth here, and holding power accountable for misstatements of fact 🙏 https://t.co/TazXQnjjgW

— Caitlin Long 🔑⚡️🟠 (@CaitlinLong_) October 25, 2023

While evidence shows that Hamas has received some crypto donations, the amount remains small, it said.

Elliptic referred to a popular Hamas crypto fundraising campaign by Gaza Now that has only raised $21,000 since October 7. About $9,000 of this was frozen by Tether, while another $2,000 was frozen after being sent to a cryptocurrency exchange.

In contrast, Israel has received over $185,000 worth of crypto donations through Crypto Aid Israel, it said. The raised amount goes to support people affected by the attacks.

Chainalysis Also Corrects The Record On Elliptic

Chainalysis also addressed misconceptions about the amount of crypto donated to terrorism-affiliated wallets in an Oct. 18 blog post.

Chainalysis referred to a wallet that received $82 million, but said that only $450,000 went to terrorism financing. The report noted that blockchain technology makes crypto transactions traceable and less suitable for illicit activities.