The virtual currency ``Tron'' is used as a means of raising funds for extremist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, and Israel is freezing accounts one after another.
Extremist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah use cryptocurrency networks to raise funds. Bitcoin used to be the mainstream virtual currency network used to raise funds for extremist organizations, but at the time of writing, ``TRON'' has replaced Bitcoin as the mainstream virtual currency network. has been reported.
Focus: New crypto front emerges in Israel's militant financing fight | Reuters
Hamas has been soliciting donations via cryptocurrency networks since around 2019. When Hamas first started soliciting donations, they used Bitcoin, but in April 2023, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that they were concerned about the safety of donors and decided to avoid harm. Therefore, we will stop accepting donations in Bitcoin.'
According to Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of blockchain analysis company Merkle Science , Bitcoin used to be the predominant virtual currency network used by extremist organizations, but at the time of writing, Tron had become dominant. thing.
Tron is a virtual currency network that started service in 2018, and its official website boasts that it has 198 million accounts and over 6.7 billion transactions. Mr. Pattnaik points out three advantages of TRON: ``high-speed transactions,'' ``low transaction costs,'' and ``excellent stability.'' In addition, it has been possible to trade Tether (USDT) on the TRON network since 2019, and it has been pointed out that most of the virtual currencies traded on the TRON network are Tether.
Israeli authorities are also tightening regulations on Tron accounts, and from July 2021 to October 2023, 143 Tron accounts believed to be related to extremist organizations were frozen by Israeli authorities. Of the frozen accounts, 87 were frozen in 2023, of which 56 were associated with Hamas, 39 with Hezbollah, and 26 with Islamic Jihad.
In addition, Israeli authorities announced that they had frozen 600 accounts connected to the virtual currency exchange 'Dubai Co.' a few weeks after the large-scale attack by Hamas, and the frozen users were interviewed by Reuters. ``I was using Tron.'' However, the users interviewed denied any connection with extremist organizations.
In an interview with Reuters, a Tron spokesperson admitted that ``theoretically, it could be used for suspicious activities,'' but denied any connection between the Tron management team and extremist organizations. In addition, TRON CEO Justin Sun posted on X, ``We are working with a variety of partners to ensure that funds do not go to extremist organizations,'' and stated that they do not have a cooperative relationship with extremist organizations. is emphasized.
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…
— HE Justin Sun 孙ゆ晨 (@justinsuntron) November 27, 2023
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