Reuters: Terrorist groups switch from Bitcoin to TRON
Iran-backed militant groups are moving from Bitcoin to TRON to fund their activities. Reuters reports, citing a number of analysts who study blockchain transactions.
The TRON network is faster and cheaper than Bitcoin. In addition, the growing withdrawals of the relevant wallets by Israeli security services signal interest.
Between July 2021 and October 2023, NBCTF froze 143 TRON wallets, allegedly linked to “a designated terrorist organization” or used for “serious terrorist wrongdoing”.
Included were addresses belonging to Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Additionally, some were linked to the Gaza-based exchanger Dubai Co. For Exchange.
Shortly after Hamas’s attack, Israel announced the largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure, freezing around 600 accounts linked to Dubai Co. For Exchange, without specifying which crypto networks or coins were used.
More than a dozen people whose funds were blocked as a result of this operation told Reuters that they used TRON. They said they traded cryptocurrency for personal purposes not related to terrorist financing. Only one person, who gave the name Neo, suggested that at some point he transferred money “to someone connected to Hamas”.
Nevertheless, Reuters could not independently verify the militants’ use of TRON.
TRON spokesperson Hayward Wong told the agency that the company does not control people using the technology and is not linked to terrorist groups. He also noted that all financial instruments “in theory can be used for dubious activity.”
TRON co-founder Justin Sun commented on the agency’s article, saying that protocol representatives are fighting terrorism financing by integrating various analytical tools.
TRON is a decentralized protocol, similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum, with nodes operating worldwide. Global super representatives are responsible for running this protocol. While we are committed to combating terrorist financing by integrating various analysis projects and…
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 27, 2023
“Our top priorities remain maintaining decentralisation, ensuring asset security and providing instant, accessible and reliable transactions,” he added.
Over the past two years, Israeli authorities have confiscated millions of shekels in crypto accounts suspected of ties to Hamas and other militant groups in the Middle East.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Palestinian militants have received at least $134 million in cryptocurrency.
According to TRM Labs, over the past year ISIS-connected groups in Asia used cryptocurrency to raise more than $2 million, most often involving the stablecoin USDT on the TRON network.
Earlier, experts estimated the share of high-risk USDT transactions on the TRON network in the OTC market.
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