While the past several weekends went quite calmly for Bitcoin and the entire crypto market, this time, things are significantly different. Whether propelled by yesterday’s announcements by a few presidents of the US Federal Reserve or today’s reports of Iran preparing an attack against Israel, the reality is that BTC’s price has tumbled hard, and...Read More
The US and UK authorities have ramped up their crackdown on entities linked to terrorism financing via crypto after the October 7th attacks on Israel. As such, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK’s Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) imposed fresh sanctions earlier this week on two individuals and...Read More
The Hamas terrorist organization has found a new cryptocurrency network to finance its attacks against Israel. The Iran-backed militant group has moved its activities from Bitcoin to Tron, a faster and cheaper blockchain. According to a Reuters report, interviews with financial crime experts and blockchain specialists revealed that more groups designated as terror organizations by...Read More
Are Hamas terrorists really raising tens of millions of dollars using crypto? Blockchain surveillance experts at Elliptic say the truth is a bit more nuanced. The firm released a blog post on Wednesday dissecting prior claims from the Wall Street Journal about crypto being a major source of financing for the organization, which were later...Read More
Hamas has been leveraging a global financial network to channel support from charities and sympathetic nations, employing various methods, including cryptocurrencies, to circumvent international sanctions. This has prompted the Israeli authorities to freeze several crypto accounts and seize millions of dollars worth of crypto coins following its attack on the country. Israel Freezes Over 100...Read More
Tether announced a total of $835 million in assets primarily linked to various criminal activities, such as theft (resulting from blockchain and exchange hacks), along with smaller portions associated with other illicit activities. The stablecoin issuer has actively cooperated with 31 law enforcement agencies worldwide, assisting in investigations spanning 19 different jurisdictions. Among the countries...Read More
Israeli authorities have frozen several cryptocurrency accounts allegedly linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The operation was carried out in collaboration with the crypto exchange Binance, highlighting an increasing global trend towards monitoring and regulating digital currencies to prevent their misuse for illicit activities. Binance Assists Israeli Police in Halting Crypto Financing for Hamas...Read More
Esther Freeman – a 70-year-old Israeli resident who turned a $3,000 BTC investment into over $320,000 in 2021 – has terminated the legal battle with Bank Hapoalim. The latter was unwilling to accept her crypto profits, casting doubts on the source of the funds she used to hop on the Bitcoin bandwagon. Her investment is...Read More
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) inked a deal with the crypto custodian Fireblocks to offer “a comprehensive range of innovative and secure digital asset products and services.” Israel’s only public stock exchange labeled the partnership as “crucial in the new era of innovation” since it could boost the future advancement of the cryptocurrency sector...Read More
The authorities of Israel have reportedly seized around 190 cryptocurrency accounts at Binance since 2021, saying some of those were tied to the terrorist groups – Hamas and Islamic State. The exchange claimed that Reuters (the media outlet that informed about the confiscation) is “deliberately leaving out critical facts to fit their narrative.” It asserted...Read More
The armed wing of the alleged terrorist organization Hamas – Al-Qassam Brigades – will reportedly stop receiving donations in bitcoin out of concern for the safety of the contributors. The Israeli authorities have previously estimated that the entity funded some of its military campaigns through cryptocurrencies. The Defence Ministry seized over 100 digital wallets associated...Read More
TinyTap – a technological startup that empowers users to create different educational game-based activities – secured an $8.5 million fundraiser. The company, which is a subsidiary of the blockchain gaming platform Animoca Brands, will use the funds to accelerate its product development and hire more staff. Several giants in the finance field led the multi-million...Read More
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) is willing to enable clients of its non-banking members to trade cryptocurrencies. Its proposal comes as a result of the turmoil experienced in the sector last year, which according to numerous watchdogs, was a prerequisite for imposing stricter regulations. Authorizing NBMs The TASE – Israel’s only public stock exchange...Read More
StarkWare – an Israeli company focused on Ethereum scaling – joined forces with the Web3 services platform – Chainlink – to expand development on StarkNet. The collaboration will also build an economic network between the two entities. ‘Enabling a Next-Generation Web3 Applications’ According to a document seen by CryptoPotato, StarkWare will officially join the Chainlink...Read More
The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) could amend three of its existing monetary laws to squeeze in cryptocurrencies. The regulator’s proposals seek to grant investors maximum security when dealing with digital assets, reminding about the recent collapse of FTX and the severe losses it caused to consumers. Paying Attention to Crypto Israel’s financial watchdog proposed that...Read More
Numerous Palestinians in the blockaded enclave of Gaza have lost their lives due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while others are on the edge of survival. The total destruction of the area has also negatively affected the local financial network. Trying to preserve their wealth and monetary independence from Israel, an increasing number of Gazans have...Read More
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) – Israel’s sole equity and debt marketplace – now plans to establish a blockchain and digital asset-based trading platform. The exchange will focus on the development of distributed ledger and smart contract technologies while creating various types of tokenized digital assets. Focusing on Future Tech Tel Aviv’s blockchain-related plans...Read More
Israeli authorities have arrested three individuals suspected of defrauding the French state treasury. The undercover investigation was carried out jointly by the Israel police and the Israel Tax Authority over the last few months. Foreign investigative agencies – Europol and the French Police – also cooperated. As per Reuters, the investigators are looking into a...Read More
The number of large banking organizations opting in the digital asset industry continues to expand, with the latest example coming from Bank Leumi. The organization has partnered with blockchain company Paxos to provide Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services. Bank Leumi to Enter the Crypto World? Reuters reported on March 24 that Bank Leumi – the...Read More
The Defense Ministry of Israel reportedly seized 30 digital wallets belonging to businesses associated with the exchange company al-Mutahadun. The authorities accused the latter of funding the terrorist organization Hamas. Israel’s Latest Seizure In 2021, al-Mutahadun was one of the firms designated as a terrorist-funding entity by Israeli officials. Specifically, they claimed that the Shamlah...Read More
Leading Israeli bank, Hapoalim Bank, has recently filed a letter of defense to dismiss the claims of the 69-year-old pensioner, Esther Freeman, to allow the deposit of $320k profit she made from a $3,000 Bitcoin investment nearly nine years ago. According to a Thursday report by a local media outlet, the bank claims that its...Read More
In the quest not to fall behind in its drive to develop a central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC), policymakers in Israel reportedly tested stakeholders’ views to determine the risks and limits of a national digital currency. Yoav Soffer, the head of the Bank of Israel’s digital project, announced the trial, as reported by Bloomberg. He...Read More
Israel’s authorities continue their efforts in order to clamp down on individuals and companies supposedly related to funding terrorism. In the latest example, they seized just over $800,000 in digital assets from such a firm. According to a recent local report, Defense Minister Benny Grantz has signed the order for the seizure. The coverage indicated...Read More
The Bank of Israel (BoI) has reportedly instructed local banks to accept profits from digital asset endeavors as long as the source of the money is not related to criminal affairs. The procedure is intended to complement the Money Laundering Prohibition Ordinance, which applies to crypto-related entities and their operations. Israeli Banks May no Longer...Read More
Coinbase – a popular cryptocurrency exchange – recently acquired the Israel-based cryptographic security company, Unbound Security. The exchange notes that this gives them an all-new presence in the region, which is “a well-established and rapidly growing technology hub.” How Unbound Helps Coinbase Coinbase announced its latest acquisition in a blog post earlier today. The company...Read More
The JewCoin DAO Ecosystem, already notorious in the cryptocurrency market, is progressively developing. Last week, representatives of JewCoin, the first kosher DAO ecosystem, presented Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman with a certificate for owning a unique NFT Digital Hamsa crypto amulet. NFT JewCoin DAO certificate for Avigdor Lieberman. We have to admit that the JewCoin...Read More
According to a local news report, four members from the Yisrael Beiteinu political party in Israel have submitted a new bill that proposes to recognize Bitcoin (BTC) as a digital currency instead of an asset, at Knesset, the legislative branch of the Israeli government. The reason for this amendment to BTC’s current regulation stemmed from...Read More
Do you use a VPN? It’s a privacy-enhancing tool that everyone should be using, especially those with digital assets. Or do you happen to be older than the typical crypto trader? Both of these characteristics are part of a list of so-called ‘red flags’ that can get you in trouble with a new dragnet that...Read More
Despite the harsh market conditions this year, high profile closures of a few ventures and a lot of employee downsizing, the number of companies operating in the blockchain and cryptocurrency fields in Israel actually grew by 32% in 2019. Also Read: Bankrupt DX Exchange Didn’t Pay Israeli Suppliers and Employees Israeli Blockchain Industry Survives Crypto...Read More
The Takeaway: An Israeli startup called Libracamp is funding development on Facebook’s Libra testnet. More than 80 projects have applied for the five spots in Libracamp’s initial virtual bootcamp, which starts in November. Even though Facebook admitted in a recent SEC filing that regulatory pushback may prevent Libra from launching, Libracamp remains undaunted. The Libracamp...Read More
