Terrorist groups worldwide associated with terrorist group ISIS routinely use crypto for fundraising, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs said in a new report. According to the report, multiple pro-ISIS groups in Tajikistan raised around $2 million in Tron-based USDT during 2021. Al-Azaim Foundation for Media Production, a pro-ISIS media organization in Afghanistan, also used crypto for fundraising purposes, receiving $10,000. Global crypto exchange Binance reportedly froze the accounts controlled by the militant wing of Hamas, which accumulated around $80,000 in a single month.
TRM Labs’ report found that terrorist groups have been using crypto for fundraising purposes, with some success. In Tajikistan, the groups used a centralized exchange to cash out the funds, leading to the arrest of senior ISIS fundraiser Shamil Hukumatov in Turkey. In Indonesia, a pro-ISIS group raised over $517,000 using an account on an exchange, with donations often coming in large amounts of around $10,000 each. Meanwhile, ISIS affiliates in Pakistan raised $40,000 over the past 12 months, pretending to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Crypto has been utilized by terrorists and insurgent groups around the world over the past few years, with traceability of Bitcoin leading Hamas to abandon it as a fundraising method in 2021 for the safety of its donors, the group announced in April.