Hamas’ military wing advised donors not to use Binance to handle funds but rather to use Bybit, OKX, Kast and Redotpay, according to recent U.S. Department of Justice documents.
- An Al-Qassam Brigades letter appears in full within a DoJ asset forfeiture filing from Sept 9.
- The group recommends using Tether’s USDT stablecoin and the TRC-20 network, which is used to create and manage fungible tokens on the Tron blockchain.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, told potential donors that it would prefer if they didn’t use Binance to transfer funds to the militant group’s wallet, according to documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ).
Instead, it recommended other rival crypto platforms such as Bybit, OKX, Kast and Redotpay as better options.
The Al-Qassam Brigades letter, which appears in full in a DoJ asset-seizure warrant, advised using Tether’s USDT stablecoin and the TRC-20 network, which is used to create and manage fungible tokens on the Tron blockchain.
“It is preferable not to use the ‘BINANCE’ platform to transfer support; and not to enter any data indicating our official name so that your wallet is not blocked and for your safety as well (entering any fictitious data as the recipient of the transfer); You can transfer through the application: trust wallet, RedotPay, OKX, Kast, BYBIT…,” Al-Qassam Brigades said in the letter.
The military group said Binance “can be used to purchase currencies only, then use another application to complete the transfer process.”
The guidance offered a rare glimpse into how a sanctioned militant group evaluates crypto platforms for their potential donors, in the likelihood that some transfers could be detected or blocked.
The inclusion of these companies in the letter, however, doesn’t necessarily indicate that these firms have weak ‘know your customer’ (KYC) and ‘anti-money laundering’ (AML) protocols, as large crypto platforms and leading stablecoins are used for a variety of purposes.
Illicit activity
Crypto has become one of several channels used by sanctioned groups and other illicit actors to move money across borders, particularly through stablecoins (cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset like the U.S. dollar) and online wallets.
U.S. Treasury said in its 2026 terrorist-financing risk assessment that groups including Hamas and ISIS have continued using digital assets for donations and transfers. However, it noted that traditional financial products and services remain terrorists’ preferred means of moving money.
The U.S had refocused its counterterrorist financing efforts with regard to Hamas, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel perpetrated by the terrorist group.
Hamas had reportedly solicited cryptocurrency donations, although the scale and effectiveness of these efforts remain unclear. The Wall Street Journal reported on October 10, 2023, that cryptocurrency wallets connected to Hamas received about $41 million between 2020 and 2023.
The newspaper subsequently reported that the Treasury is "investigating $165 million in cryptocurrency-linked transactions that may have helped finance Hamas" prior to the October 2023 attacks.
While the documents suggested that Binance may have improved its KYC and AML protocols, it’s unclear whether the Hamas overture is a response to this.
"When terrorist groups tell people to avoid Binance, it shows our controls are working,” said Binance’s chief compliance officer, Noah Perlman. “Binance is not a safe place for illicit actors. We invest heavily in sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and investigations, and we work closely with law enforcement to identify, disrupt and report terrorist financing and other financial crime."
According to OKX, the wallet address referenced in the Feb. 10, 2025, communication had no association with OKX and had already been identified by its internal controls as linked to illicit activity. As a result, any attempts by OKX customers to transfer funds to the address would have been flagged and prevented, the exchange said via email.
Kast said it maintains a dedicated financial crime compliance function, with more than 50 employees across its broader compliance organization.
“All customers are subject to identity verification and screening before accessing our services. The company combines its own technology with established compliance and risk-management providers, including Elliptic, Sumsub, and Sardine, to support sanctions screening, customer due diligence, and transaction monitoring,” a Kast spokesman said via email.
Bybit declined to comment. Redotpay did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
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