The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has partially corrected an article that incorrectly described the extent to which Hamas and other militant groups use cryptocurrencies to fund their terrorist activities.
An October 10 article titled “Hamas militants behind Israeli attacks raise millions in cryptocurrency” quoted blockchain forensics firm Elliptic as saying that Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group operating in the Gaza Strip (PIJ) from August 2021 to August 2021 to June 2023.
Elliptic said in the cited report that Israeli counterterrorism services seized wallets linked to PIJ that received $93 million during that time period. However, Elliptic clarified that this does not mean that PIJ raised these funds to finance its terrorist activities. Research by blockchain forensics firm Chainaanalysis shows that only $450,000 of those funds were sent to a wallet known to be associated with terrorism.
The Journal's correction said that PIJ and the Lebanese party Hezbollah "may have exchanged" up to $12 million in cryptocurrency, far less than the original $93 million figure. Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah may have exchanged up to $12 million in cryptocurrency since 2021, according to cryptocurrency research firm Elliptic. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that PIJ had sent more than $12 million in cryptocurrency to Hezbollah since 2021,” the Journal said.
The publication said it updated other parts of the article to include "additional context" about Elliptic's research. The Journal’s retraction follows a statement from Elliptic on Oct. 25 calling on the Journal to correct its misinterpretation of the data. Elliptic added that Hamas’s cryptocurrency funding remains “small” relative to other funding sources. On Oct. 27, Elliptic was pleased to see the Journal admit its error, but said it would like to see a more specific correction.
Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, also noted the Wall Street Journal’s opening paragraph that cryptocurrencies are still considered the primary source of funding behind Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, and several other prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space are now calling on U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren to withdraw a related letter sent to the White House on October 17. The letter was supported by more than 100 US lawmakers.
The letter cites the Wall Street Journal's misunderstanding of Elliptic data in an attempt to argue that cryptocurrencies pose a "national security threat" to the United States and that Congress and the Biden administration should act quickly before cryptocurrencies are used to fund another "tragedy." action.
