Hamas military wing told donors to avoid Binance, use alternative crypto platforms

A U.S. Department of Justice asset-seizure warrant reveals that Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, advised donors to avoid Binance for direct crypto transfers due to blocking risks. The group recommended alternative platforms like OKX, Bybit, and Kast to route Tether (USDT) transfers to external TRON wallets. Binance's Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman stated this warning proves their compliance controls are working, while other named platforms affirmed their active blocking of illicit addresses.

Al-Qassam Brigades crypto donation guidance

• ▪The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, advised potential donors to avoid using Binance for crypto transfers and instead consider alternative platforms, according to a U.S. Department of Justice asset-seizure warrant.
• ▪The Al-Qassam Brigades advised donors to use Tether's USDT stablecoin and the TRC-20 network on the Tron blockchain, suggesting Binance only be used to purchase digital assets before transferring them elsewhere.
• ▪The Al-Qassam Brigades recommended alternative applications including Trust Wallet, Bybit, OKX, Kast, and RedotPay for transferring funds to an external TRON blockchain wallet.

Crypto platform compliance controls

• ▪OKX stated that the wallet address referenced in the February 10, 2025, communication had no association with OKX and had already been identified by its internal systems as linked to illicit activity.
• ▪Kast stated that all of its customers undergo identity verification and screening, utilizing compliance and risk-management providers including Elliptic, Sumsub, and Sardine to support sanctions screening and transaction monitoring.

US counterterrorism financing efforts

• ▪U.S. authorities increased scrutiny of Hamas-related financial activity and refocused counterterrorist financing efforts following the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department stated in its 2026 terrorist financing risk assessment that groups including Hamas and ISIS continue to use cryptocurrency for some donations, though traditional financial services remain their preferred method.

Hamas cryptocurrency fundraising scale

• ▪The Wall Street Journal reported on October 10, 2023, that cryptocurrency wallets connected to Hamas received approximately $41 million between 2020 and 2023.
• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department investigated $165 million in cryptocurrency-linked transactions that may have helped finance Hamas prior to the October 2023 attacks, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal.

Debatable claims

• ▪Cryptocurrency is a primary tool for modern terrorist financing
• ▪Binance's compliance controls are successfully deterring terrorist financing