US DOJ Charges Hamas Leaders with October 7 Attacks, Details Hamas’ Use of Cryptocurrencies

In the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, there was a global discussion on the potential role of cryptocurrencies to fund the attacks. Compared to other funding streams, cryptocurrencies likely play a relatively small role for Hamas today. However, following the attacks, TRM identified a number of Hamas-linked fundraising efforts, most notably Gaza Now, which received tens of thousands in inflows after October 7 according to TRM analysis. In addition to such entities, online groups such as "Hamas Freedom Fighters" which allegedly raise funds for Hamas' "resistance movement" show activity and inflows of tens of thousands of dollars since the attacks. 

On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice announced terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges against six senior leaders of Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charges relate to the defendants’ central roles in planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities that Hamas committed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, involving the murders and kidnappings of countless innocent civilians, including American citizens. In addition, prosecutors set forth the way Hamas has experimented with the use of cryptocurrencies.

Specifically, the 38-page criminal complaint charged the six senior Hamas leaders with several offenses, including terrorism, conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization (Hamas), and sanctions evasion. In addition, the complaint illuminates the US government’s view of how Hamasused cryptocurrencies to raise and send funds.

Understanding How Hamas Uses Crypto

Hamas, according to the complaint, and consistent with TRM’s analysis, raises money to fund its terrorist activities through a variety of methods, including by soliciting and receiving cryptocurrency payments, advertising the ostensible anonymity of such transactions. 

Since 2019, Hamas’s military wing has used social media and other platforms to call for cryptocurrency contributions from supporters abroad, including in the United States, to Hamas-controlled virtual wallets, explicitly acknowledging that those payments would be used to fund Hamas’s campaign of violence. Through these mechanisms, according to the complaint, “Hamas has received tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency payments to fund its activities.”

According to the complaint, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has actively solicited cryptocurrency donations to fund their terrorist activities, leveraging the perceived anonymity of digital assets. The al-Qassam Brigades started requesting Bitcoin donations via their website and then social media, boasting about the untraceable nature of cryptocurrency to support their violent campaigns. They explained how donors could contribute anonymously.

Even after the US and Israeli governments seized hundreds of cryptocurrency accounts linked to Hamas in September 2020, the organization continued to solicit funds. They appealed to religious beliefs, using videos from clerics encouraging financial support for jihad through cryptocurrency.

By mid-2021, Israeli authorities seized Hamas-affiliated crypto wallets holding over $7.7 million in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Tether, and Ether. These wallets were linked to a Gaza-based exchange, Buy Cash (sanctioned by OFAC on October 18, 2023), which for years provided money transfer services to terrorist groups. 

Read TRM’s Treasury Sanctions Gaza-based Virtual Currency Exchange BuyCash in wake of Hamas Attacks here.

As a result of the repeated and successful targeting of Hamas’ cryptocurrency infrastructure by Israel and the United States, the group announced a halt in crypto fundraising in April 2023, ostensibly “out of concern about the safety of donors and to spare them any harm.”  

After the October 7, 2023 attacks, several Hamas-affiliated groups solicited donations in cryptocurrency, most notably “Gaza Now,” which raised tens of thousands of dollars since the attacks. Gaza Now was sanctioned by the United States on March 27, 2024. For example, three days after the massacre, donations were sent with messages praying for victory and referencing jihad. 

Read TRM’s US and UK Sanctions Authorities Target Gaza Now for Supporting Hamas here.

It is worth noting that Hamas and affiliated fundraising campaigns were not the only ones raising funds in cryptocurrency. According to TRM, the Gaza and West Bank-based Mujahideen Brigades raised over $20,000 since they began soliciting cryptocurrency donations in January 2024. Mujahideen Brigades, which has conducted joint operations with Hamas post October 7th, was sanctioned by OFAC in November 2018.

 All Roads Lead to Iran

Hamas does not rely solely on individual donations. The complaint highlights Hamas’ reliance on Iran –  particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC has provided Hamas with rockets, technical assistance, and funding, which were critical in orchestrating the October 7 attacks. According to the US State Department, whether through crypto or other means, Hamas' allies have found ways to get money to Gaza. 

The U.S. State Department has said that Iran provides up to $100 million annually in support to Palestinian groups including Hamas, and has cited methods of moving the money through shell companies, shipping transactions and precious metals. By October 2023, Hamas had established a secret network of companies managing $500 million of investments in companies from Turkey to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Treasury has said, announcing sanctions on the firms in May, 2022.

The attacks, orchestrated by Hamas, according to DOJ, are not just isolated incidents against Israel but part of a broader international strategy. Hamas's relationship with Iran, the involvement of Hezbollah, and financial networks across the Middle East highlight the global nature of the threat. TRM will continue to monitor the use of cryptocurrencies by Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

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