The post Binance’s terror ties grow, trading volume shrinks, US dollars disappear appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Binance’s ties to terror groups appear greater than initially advertised, while the controversial digital asset exchange is facing shrinking volume and further limits on its U.S. and U.K. operations. On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that Israeli authorities had compelled the freezing of over 100 Binance customer accounts linked to Hamas since the terror group launched its attack against Israel on October 7. The FT noted that these accounts contained “millions of dollars” worth of tokens, and Israel is seeking further information on around 200 other suspect accounts, most of which are said to be on Binance. Despite these figures, a Binance spokesperson downplayed the reports, saying the exchange had only blocked a “small number of accounts linked to illicit funds.” But the FT quoted an unidentified Binance staffer who said the exchange had been instructed to “go back and find all the Binance customers that have had exposure” to blockchain addresses linked to Hamas fundraising efforts. These new details flesh out previous reports of Israeli authorities pressuring Binance to step up its terror funding mitigation efforts. Binance has a proven track record of lax know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) practices that have made it a hub for criminals of all stripes looking to move cash outside traditional financial channels. Since 2019, when Hamas began seriously exploring ‘crypto’ financing options, Binance has featured prominently in Israeli reports of Hamas receiving tens of millions of dollars worth of digital assets—primarily USDT (Tether) and other stablecoins—from sympathetic donors. That total skyrockets once you factor in other Islamic terror groups, including the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which may yet join the current turmoil. Binance isn’t the only ‘crypto’ operator the Israeli authorities are leaning on. Tether announced Monday that it had frozen 32 addresses “linked to illicit activity in Israel and Ukraine” as part of its efforts to “counter cryptocurrency-funded terrorism and warfare.” However, Israeli authorities have so…

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Filed under: News - @ October 18, 2023 12:18 pm