Justice Department Seizes $200K in Crypto Tied to Hamas: What You Need to Know

• The U.S. seized over $200K in crypto linked to Hamas through wallets used for laundering $1.5M since October 2024.
• Authorities say the funds were collected via encrypted group chats and funneled through multiple crypto exchanges.
• The FBI and DOJ continue cracking down on crypto-financed terrorism, alongside similar efforts by Israeli agencies.

The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it seized more than $200,000 in cryptocurrency that it says was being used to fund Hamas. Yeah—digital wallets, secret chats, crypto laundering—it’s all in the mix.

According to the DOJ, they grabbed control of one wallet holding about $89,900, plus three other accounts stuffed with a total of $111,500 worth of digital assets. These wallets, officials claim, had already been used to move more than $1.5 million in crypto tied to Hamas activity since October 2024.

“We’ll hunt down every cent, in every form, wherever it’s hiding,” said U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. in a press release that dropped Thursday.

Crypto and Conflict—Still Colliding

For over a decade now, militant groups and cybercriminals have leaned on crypto to sidestep traditional finance and slip past international enforcement. Privacy-focused blockchains, encrypted comms, global reach—it’s not hard to see why.

But authorities aren’t just watching anymore. They’re clamping down—hard. And it’s clearly making life a lot harder for groups trying to fund operations in the shadows.

Group Chats, Encrypted Apps, and Wallets Everywhere

The DOJ says the latest crypto trail started in a group chat, where Hamas supporters allegedly shared donation instructions using an encrypted app. From there, at least 17 wallets were used to collect funds. Over-the-counter brokers and unnamed crypto exchanges reportedly helped move the money around.

They didn’t name the exchanges. No big shocker there.

The FBI’s Albuquerque field office helped with the investigation. Yeah—New Mexico’s finest, getting it done in cyberspace.

“Seizing crypto like this? Just one of many tools in our counterterrorism playbook,” said David J. Scott, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.

Not Just a U.S. Effort

It’s not just the DOJ chasing this stuff down. Israeli counter-terror authorities, between 2021 and 2023, reportedly seized dozens of crypto accounts suspected of funding Hamas—and even a couple tied to ISIS, according to Reuters.

Point is, the crackdown isn’t slowing down.