The U.S. Department of Justice announced on September 1 that federal investigators had seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency allegedly intended for Hamas fundraising operations. According to DOJ reports, the FBI seized three cryptocurrency warrants dated March 25, 2025, June 25, 2025, and October 10, 2025, which together recovered the substantial amount. The seizures targeted a fundraising system that distributed rotating cryptocurrency addresses through encrypted group chats and websites, making the collection network harder to track. Blockchain analytics reviewed by KuCoin found that Hamas's fundraising wallets relied heavily on Tether (USDT) stablecoins and cycled more than $1.5 million in digital assets since late 2024 through rapid account rotation, a tactic meant to obscure the money trail from public blockchain surveillance. Court filings identified Bitcoin, Ethereum, Wrapped Ethereum, Tether, and Tron across 18 Tether-controlled addresses and three Binance accounts allegedly linked to financing a foreign terrorist organization.
The operation expanded beyond cryptocurrency to include internet infrastructure control and unprecedented donor identification capabilities. As reported by DOJ, warrants dated July 29, 2026, and August 18, 2026 authorized the seizure of domains and servers allegedly used for fundraising and recruitment. The targeted infrastructure included Alqassam.ps, described as the Al Qassam Brigades' main website, allowing investigators to interrupt access and receive information sent through the seized infrastructure. Court filings allege an encrypted group chat directed supporters to AlQassam.ps, where rotating wallet addresses solicited donations. The FBI's operation enabled them to intercept additional cryptocurrency donations allegedly intended for Hamas. Most significantly, the takedown of AlQassam.ps server infrastructure gathered online communication records and contact details for thousands of prospective donors who had attempted to send cryptocurrency to Hamas, information the FBI plans to use in ongoing counter-terrorism operations according to the Justice Department.
The first publicly announced stage of the investigation recovered approximately $201,400 from cryptocurrency wallets and exchange accounts. According to DOJ reports, authorities said those assets were connected to a network that had moved more than $1.5 million since October 2024. The investigation combined blockchain tracing with information from human sources, with a Chainalysis review following transfers through exchanges, brokers and operational wallets before obtaining control of the targeted funds. The operation was led by the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office in coordination with its Counterterrorism Division, Cyber Division and New York Field Office. FBI officials identified a financing network soliciting virtual-currency donations to the Qassam Brigades, which is Hamas's military wing, last year, with a confidential source alerting law enforcement to a Telegram post requesting contributions to an email address associated with Hamas.
According to FBI affidavits filed in connection with the seizures, Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising in or around early 2019 through its Qassam Brigades military wing, soliciting donations on its Telegram channel and using direct online fundraising methods. Hamas officials bragged that the currency would be untraceable and their websites offered instructions for how to make anonymous donations, as reported by the Justice Department. A major investigative break arrived last year when FBI officials identified the financing network and a confidential source located in the United States alerted law enforcement to a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address associated with Hamas. Brett Leatherman, an FBI assistant director in charge of its cyber division, stated that the bureau would "continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations."
The enforcement actions were authorized through five warrants issued between March 2025 and August 2026, with three covering cryptocurrency seizures and two concerning online infrastructure allegedly controlled by the Al Qassam Brigades. As reported by DOJ, Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government, and the latest announcement describes allegations contained in warrant affidavits that do not represent a criminal conviction against the people who controlled the addresses, accounts or servers. The forfeiture proceeds under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(G) and 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, statutes that allow the government to confiscate assets derived from or intended to facilitate designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations without a prior criminal trial of foreign operatives. However, the donor data captured through the AlQassam.ps server seizure raises separate legal stakes, as individuals in the United States who attempted to send money to Hamas could face criminal prosecution under material support statutes, which carry penalties of up to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated that the operation sends a clear message to Hamas: "We will stop your fundraising for terror. Your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated."
