Hamas And Hezbollah Pick Tron Instead Of Bitcoin In Crypto Shift, Report
27 November 2023 - 10:00PM
NEWSBTC
TRON (TRX), a blockchain-based digital platform, has surpassed
Bitcoin (BTC) as the platform of choice for financial transfers by
groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which are designated terrorist
organizations by the US, UK, and other countries. According to a
Reuters report, this development has opened a new front in Israel’s
battle against the funding of alleged Iranian-backed militant
groups. Tron Wallets Targeted In Israeli Seizures According to the
report, a comprehensive analysis of crypto seizures announced by
Israeli security services since 2021 highlights a significant
increase in targeting TRON wallets and a decrease in seizures
related to Bitcoin wallets. The National Bureau for Counter Terror
Financing (NBCTF) of Israel, responsible for seizure operations,
froze a total of 143 TRON wallets between July 2021 and October
2023, believing them to be associated with “designated terrorist
organizations” or involved in “severe terror crimes.”
Notably, 87 of these seizures occurred this year, including 39
wallets linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and 26 wallets associated
with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally. Related Reading:
Blast Surpasses Cardano And Base – Here’s How Much DeFi Investors
Have Locked In response to heightened scrutiny of Hamas’ financing,
Israel intensified its investigation efforts. It discovered that 56
TRON wallets were connected to Hamas, with 46 traced back to a
Gaza-based money exchange company called Dubai Co. For
Exchange. Following the recent Hamas attacks on Israel, the
largest crypto account seizure to date was announced, freezing
approximately 600 accounts associated with Dubai Co. Per the
report, several individuals whose funds were frozen in this seizure
claimed to have been using TRON for legitimate business or personal
financial purposes and denied any affiliation with Hamas or Islamic
Jihad. However, Israel designates Dubai Co. as a terrorist
group due to its alleged aid to Hamas, particularly in transferring
substantial funds on an annual basis. Key Blockchain For Tether
Transactions When contacted by Reuters, a spokesperson for TRON,
Hayward Wong, emphasized that all technologies have the potential
for misuse, citing the example of US dollars being employed for
money laundering. Wong further stated that TRON lacks control
over how its technology is utilized and asserted that it is not
linked to the groups identified by Israel. The report also sheds
light on the dominance of the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) within
the TRON network. Tether stated that it routinely traces and
freezes tokens used for illicit purposes, working in collaboration
with law enforcement agencies. According to Reuters, TRON has
become the primary blockchain for Tether transactions, hosting a
remarkable $48 billion worth of the tokens. Average daily
transactions on Tron jumped to 9.1 million from April to June, a
remarkable increase of over 70% compared to last year. However, as
reported by our sister website Bitcoinist, Tron has faced its share
of controversies. The founder of Tron, Justin Sun, sued the US
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March on allegations of
artificially inflating trading volumes and selling unregistered
Tron tokens. Related Reading: XRP Price Manipulated? Crypto Pundits
Alarmed By Market Patterns It is important to note that crypto
transactions related to terrorist groups have been decreasing since
2021 as seen in the chart below. Unlike traditional payment
methods, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies provide authorities with a
backdoor, a transparent path that has allowed them to put a halt to
illegal money flows. The unfolding developments in this matter are
yet to be fully determined, and it remains uncertain whether there
will be additional lawsuits and enforcement actions against crypto
companies and exchanges implicated in these allegations. Featured
image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
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