Hamas has witnessed a surge in donations in bitcoin since the outbreak of armed conflict with Israel at the start of May, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- "There was definitely a spike" in bitcoin donations, according to an unidentified Hamas official quoted by WSJ Wednesday.
- The Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip is considered a terrorist organization by many countries in the West and must turn to means outside mainstream financial system for funding.
- The Hamas official did not disclose how much had been received but said it was rising as a proportion of overall donations.
- Association between bitcoin and Hamas funding is nothing new. Israeli blockchain analytics firm Whitestream identified it in February 2019.
- Civilian businesses in Gaza also find cryptocurrencies useful. One developer told CoinDesk in August 2019 that some offices "do $5 million to $6 million a month."
Disclosure
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.