Chainalysis Squashes ISIS’ $300M Bitcoin War Chest Claims
- Transparency of blockchains makes cryptos undesirable for terror organizations.
Chainalysis, a Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term analyzer firm, has squashed many major terror funding allegations using cryptocurrencies, including the recently revealed possibility of ISIS having a $300 million Bitcoin war chest.
In a “fact-checking” report published on Wednesday, the New York-headquartered company pointed out that the media sensationalized such terror-funding related allegations involving Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this week, the director of a terrorism-related think tank pointed out the possibility of ISIS having a war chest worth $300 million stored in Bitcoins, as funds worth the same amount are missing in a search conducted since 2017.
“This would be an ideal storage mechanism until it is needed. If done right, it would be unfindable and unseizable for most governments,” Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project, said.
Though the allegations were speculative and not backed by any solid proof, multiple major media grabbed the news with sensational headlines.
“Schindler’s theory is also highly unlikely,” Chainalysis stated.
The company pointed out that if the terrorist organization “funneled oil proceeds into Bitcoin, trading volume of regional exchanges and money service businesses would have reflected this flow of funds.”
Media misinformation?
Chainalysis also mentioned the reports of terrorism fundraising campaign run by Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) through Cash4PS to raise funds in digital currencies, calling it misinformation.
“We broke down how we used Chainalysis Reactor to show that if PRC raised any money at all, it was substantially less than $24M,” the fact-checking report stated.
Another crypto crime report published this year highlighted the involvement of BitcoinPayments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term to facilitate the Easter Sunday Sri Lanka bombings carried out by ISIS. However, according to Chainalysis, “media reports amplified the firm’s findings.”
“The firm...claimed that the balances in CoinPayments’ wallets surged from $500,000 to $4.5 million just one day before the Easter attacks but dropped back to $500,000 right after the attacks took place,” Chainalysis stated.
“However, our analysis suggests those findings are likely incorrect and that both the $10,000 transaction and $4 million balance increase were simply internal transactions that are standard practice for a payment processor like CoinPayments.”
Cryptos are more transparent
Chainalysis, however, is not dropping the possibilities of terror organizations raising funds in digital currencies. The report outlined that most terrorism financing campaigns have raised less than $10,000, indicating limited adoption.
It also detailed that with the transparency of blockchains, cryptocurrencies are not an ideal form of illicit fund storage compared to fiats and other traditional assets.
Chainalysis, a Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term analyzer firm, has squashed many major terror funding allegations using cryptocurrencies, including the recently revealed possibility of ISIS having a $300 million Bitcoin war chest.
In a “fact-checking” report published on Wednesday, the New York-headquartered company pointed out that the media sensationalized such terror-funding related allegations involving Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this week, the director of a terrorism-related think tank pointed out the possibility of ISIS having a war chest worth $300 million stored in Bitcoins, as funds worth the same amount are missing in a search conducted since 2017.
“This would be an ideal storage mechanism until it is needed. If done right, it would be unfindable and unseizable for most governments,” Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project, said.
Though the allegations were speculative and not backed by any solid proof, multiple major media grabbed the news with sensational headlines.
“Schindler’s theory is also highly unlikely,” Chainalysis stated.
The company pointed out that if the terrorist organization “funneled oil proceeds into Bitcoin, trading volume of regional exchanges and money service businesses would have reflected this flow of funds.”
Media misinformation?
Chainalysis also mentioned the reports of terrorism fundraising campaign run by Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) through Cash4PS to raise funds in digital currencies, calling it misinformation.
“We broke down how we used Chainalysis Reactor to show that if PRC raised any money at all, it was substantially less than $24M,” the fact-checking report stated.
Another crypto crime report published this year highlighted the involvement of BitcoinPayments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term to facilitate the Easter Sunday Sri Lanka bombings carried out by ISIS. However, according to Chainalysis, “media reports amplified the firm’s findings.”
“The firm...claimed that the balances in CoinPayments’ wallets surged from $500,000 to $4.5 million just one day before the Easter attacks but dropped back to $500,000 right after the attacks took place,” Chainalysis stated.
“However, our analysis suggests those findings are likely incorrect and that both the $10,000 transaction and $4 million balance increase were simply internal transactions that are standard practice for a payment processor like CoinPayments.”
Cryptos are more transparent
Chainalysis, however, is not dropping the possibilities of terror organizations raising funds in digital currencies. The report outlined that most terrorism financing campaigns have raised less than $10,000, indicating limited adoption.
It also detailed that with the transparency of blockchains, cryptocurrencies are not an ideal form of illicit fund storage compared to fiats and other traditional assets.