- Israeli authorities ordered Binance to close hundreds of accounts linked to Hamas.
- Authorities seized crypto assets worth millions of dollars and closed several accounts.
- Binance closed several accounts and said to have adhered to international sanctions.
Amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine war, Israeli authorities have closed dozens of cryptocurrency accounts and ordered crypto exchange Binance to close hundreds more, the Financial Times reported. The Israeli authorities claim cryptocurrencies have been an effective conduit for terrorism-related funding due to their anonymity.
Notably, Israeli law enforcement said it had seized millions of dollars in crypto assets intended as funding for the Palestinian Hamas group. Israel intensified its moves following the Hamas attack on the country. Now, the regulators want to cut off links between crypto markets and Hamas.
According to the report, sources close to the development said Israel has already asked Binance to close over 100 accounts on its platform since October 7. The authorities have also asked for information on up to 200 additional crypto accounts suspected to have links to Hamas.
The report mentioned that Binance is in compliance with the request and has already blocked a small number of accounts. Furthermore, the exchange said it was also following internationally recognized sanctions rules in curbing the crypto accounts on its platforms.
Following the rapid escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine, the call for donations, especially from Hamas-associated accounts, has doubled. The Israeli authorities have raised concerns, citing worries they have previously noted about the effects of unrestrained terrorism funding in the Middle East.
Elsewhere, Tether said it has also scaled up efforts to block accounts linked to “terrorism and warfare” in Israel and Ukraine. According to the report, the company, which issues the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, said it has frozen 32 addresses holding over $873,000 worth of crypto assets.
Meanwhile, the demands from Israeli authorities mirror several regulatory calls by U.S. regulators against Binance. U.S. financial regulators have alleged that crypto accounts on Binance have had links with Hamas in the past. The regulators claim Binance executives have known about these Hamas-related transactions since 2019.
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