Despite intense online debate questioning the scale of crypto support for terrorist groups, the story continues to resonate in key places.Most recently on Thursday, in the Democratic rankings. US House of Representatives hearing He cited a figure of $130 million in digital assets going to terrorists.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) deplored massive cryptocurrency donations to groups like Hamas and expressed doubts that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is “doing the right thing” in policing the industry. He praised it as being one.
“Approximately $130 million in virtual currency went to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
Sherman made the remarks during an SEC oversight hearing before one of the subcommittees of the House Financial Services Committee. He said these assets were “designed to be the perfect vehicle for hidden funds, or cryptocurrencies, to access the world’s worst actors.”
Massive industry backlash to these initial reports – including Wall Street Journal October 10 reportl – led to a setback.wall street journal A partial correction has been issued It sought to reveal what it knew about the flow of cryptocurrencies to terrorists, initially citing more than $90 million linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). And Elliptic, a cryptocurrency analysis firm that the paper relied on for data, published a detailed blog post explaining how it works. Transaction data was misinterpreted The actual amount of virtual currency donated to Hamas since October 7th by Gaza Now, the most prominent fundraising campaign, was nearly $21,000.
A spokesperson for Mr. Sherman did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s questions about his use of statistics, which are now reflected in the Congressional Record.
In the wake of the WSJ report, Sherman joined more than 100 people who signed an Oct. 17 letter calling on the administration to take further steps to combat the misuse of digital assets, especially in light of Hamas’ attacks on Israel. He was one of the members of parliament.that letter He said Hamas and PIJ have raised more than $130 million in cryptocurrencies.
