Following the publication of the WSJ report, several members of the crypto community are calling for a retraction, accusing The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of publishing misleading information about Hamas crypto-related funding. They argue that the report does not provide evidence to support its claims and that the methodology used to calculate the figures is flawed.
A WSJ report on Oct. 10, claimed that Hamas raised $90 million in crypto to fund a potential attack on Israel. This claim drew criticism from prominent crypto skeptics who argued that the report was misleading and lacked evidence. Some critics pointed out that the report did not provide any evidence to support its claims and called for a retraction.
Following the WSJ report, several U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, wrote a letter to the White House and Treasury Department, urging them to take action against the alleged use of crypto in terrorist financing. They expressed concerns that cryptocurrencies could pose a threat to national security.
Swan Bitcoin’s lead market analyst, Sam Callahan, countered the WSJ report, stating that the figures were inaccurate and off by over 99%. He pointed to a recent Chainalysis report that showed a much lower figure for crypto used in Hamas financing.
According to Callahan, the media firm had mistakenly counted the entire trading volume of an exchange as the group’s address. He added:
“The actual funds that went to known terrorist-linked addresses was substantially less.”
Callahan urged the WSJ to retract the story, stating that politicians may use the false information to attack the crypto industry. In addition, Nic Carter expressed a similar sentiment, stating that the journalists refused to retract the story despite being contacted via email. He said:
“This is a journalistic failure as egregious as the NYT’s reporting on the rocket striking a hospital in Gaza. not directly responsible for loss of life, but evidencing a similarly callous disregard for the truth. Boycotting the WSJ until they retract.”
Sam Lyman, director of public policy at Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms, noted that the WSJ report failed to mention that Hamas’ crypto fundraising was a complete failure. He explained that the fundraising campaign had exposed the group’s donors to prosecution and wasted millions of dollars in the process.
Coinbase has previously argued that blockchain technology could help fight terrorism financing, noting that terror groups still rely heavily on the traditional financial system rather than crypto.
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