• Hamas is urging supporters to donate to it via cryptos
• The Palestinian militant group says it plans to circumvent international restrictions through bitcoin
• Unlike privacy-centric cryptoassets, bitcoin is not well suited for anonymous transactions

Hamas,  a Palestinian Sunni-Islamist fundamentalist organization which is dubbed a terrorist group in the United States and the UK, is now pleading with its supporters to send bitcoin donations to it, to enable it to circumvent international sanctions, reported Bloomberg on January 30, 2019.

Hamas Begging for Bitcoin

Per sources close to the matter, a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, a Palestinian organization in charge of the Gaza Strip, is urging its loyalists to donate in bitcoin, to enable it to cushion the adverse effects the international sanctions are having on its funding.

According to Aljazeera, the Hamas group has fought three wars with Israel, a staunch ally of the United States and the group has claimed responsibility for several suicide bombings since 1989.

These violent acts are part of the reasons why strict sanctions have been imposed on the organization.

“The Zionist enemy fights the Palestinian resistance by trying to cut aid to the resistance by all possible means, but lovers of resistance around the world must fight these Zionist attempts and seek all possible means to aid the resistance,” declared Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida, adding “Support the resistance financially through the bitcoin currency.”

Interestingly, Aljazeera noted that this is the first time the deadly Qassam Brigades arm of the Hamas is asking supporters for cryptocurrency donations.

Bitcoin Not for Terrorists

When Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin a decade ago, he never intended to make his revolutionary invention a tool in the hands of terrorists and fraudsters.

Instead he wanted to create a world of freedom where people can transact on a peer-to-peer basis in a cost-efficient manner without any form of third party interference.

While a part of the “Satoshi dream” has come to pass, as a vast array of firms,  nations and even governments are now reaping the benefits of blockchain technology and crypto in one way or the other, the issue of crypto-aided crimes remains a considerable challenge for the entire cryptospace.

Against that backdrop, it is becoming increasingly essential for amenable, yet robust regulations to be implemented in the cryptosphere.

On January 25, 2019, Blockchain Reporter informed that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had launched new consultations with all “stakehodlers” in the region to enable it to regulate its cryptocurrency industry for the good of all.  

Although bitcoin is not a viable digital asset for carrying out illegal activities, as transactions made through the Bitcoin network can easily be tracked, privacy-centric cryptos such as Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH) and others do make life easier for bad actors.