The blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis recently published a report in which it debunks a number of popular narratives that are surrounding the use of crypto in order to finance terrorism. After all, Chainalysis found that ISIS does not have $300 million in Bitcoin to finance terrorism – something that the analytics firm labels as “false reporting.”
The research firm is now in the Bitcoin and altcoin news for trying to prove that ISIS does not have access to big amounts of cryptocurrency.
In the report, we can see how Chainalysis emphasized the harm of false reporting in spreading misinformation and damaging the reputation of firms which are operating with virtual currencies. As “a trusted investigative partner to governments around the world, preventing terrorists from using cryptocurrency is one of our primary objectives,” the firm notes.
“It’s a serious task, and it’s important to be responsible and judicious when releasing information on a subject as consequential as terrorism financing.”
The firm Chainalysis cites reports from over the last week claiming that ISIS and its missing $300 million war chest is being held in Bitcoin (BTC). Despite being expressed as a certainty in mainstream reporting, the main source for the reports, Hans-Jakob Schindler (director of the Counter Extremism Project think-tank) suggested that cryptocurrencies “might have been one of the ways [the funds] might have been used.”
Anyways, Chainalysis claims that ISIS does not have $300 million in BTC to fund terrorism and that “Schindler’s theory is highly unlikely” in any case, stating:
“We know that most terrorism financing campaigns have raised less than $10,000, indicating limited adoption. Further, if ISIS had funneled oil proceeds into Bitcoin, trading volume of regional exchanges and money service businesses would have reflected this flow of funds. “
The report by the firm which is viral in the cryptonews also addresses the poorly founded claims that ISIS funded the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka using Bitcoin, citing the 2020 Crypto Crime Report (issued by Chainalysis) and refuting that crypto was used as a means to fund the attacks.
A separate report from the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism which was released today shows that ISIS does use crypto offshoots in South East Asia for money laundering.
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