whitestream

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Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, has developed a sophisticated campaign to raise money using Bitcoin. The groups military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, has set up a website that allows visitors to donate Bitcoin, making the donations difficult to track for law enforcement. This marks an increase in the number of Islamist terrorist organizations experimenting with cryptocurrencies. While the yields from these campaigns are modest, the use of cryptocurrencies by terrorist groups is becoming more sophisticated. Governments and organizations that track terrorist financing are raising alarms about this trend. Cryptocurrencies are attractive to terrorists because they allow for money transfers without a central authority. Hamas has turned to Bitcoin as its access to traditional financial systems has been curtailed. The article highlights the need for increased monitoring and regulation of cryptocurrency businesses.

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Israeli blockchain intelligence company Whitestream has revealed that CoinPayments, a Canadian-based company, was used by ISIS to convert bitcoin into money for financing terrorist activities. Whitestream found that there were exceptionally large transfers in the bitcoin wallets used by ISIS on the day before the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka. The balance in CoinPayments main wallet rose from $500,000 to $4.5 million on April 20, and then dropped back to $500,000 the following day. CoinPayments is a commercial company registered in the Cayman Islands and operates in Canada. Whitestream has developed software to monitor blockchain behavior and prevent money laundering and terror financing. CoinPayments denies any connection to ISIS.

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Israeli blockchain intelligence startup Whitestream has exposed Hamas for soliciting donations through Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency trading arena in the US. This activity by Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by Israel and the US, breaches Coinbases usage policy. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is searching for more money to fund its activities and has found a new way to solicit donations using bitcoin. Whitestream decoded the bitcoin transfers on the Hamas address and detected the organizations actions through Coinbases digital wallet. Coinbases revenue reportedly amounted to $1 billion in 2017. It is unknown whether Coinbase has taken any action against Hamas use of its services.