Hamas crypto sanctions: US Treasury targets $2.1 million charity network as bitcoin holds near $84,600

The latest Hamas crypto sanctions put digital-asset compliance back in focus. The US Treasury targeted a financing network that raised about $2.1 million between 2020 and 2026. Part of the money moved through crypto wallets.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control named five targets, the Crypto Times reported. They include a Gaza-based Hamas military-wing battalion deputy, Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq. Two France-based figures, Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid, and their charities Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux were also named.

How the Hamas crypto sanctions network worked

Officials say the groups posed as Gaza civilian aid charities. They promoted fundraising accounts on social media. They used money services businesses and crypto wallets to move funds. About $1.5 million was raised after 7 October 2023. Hundreds of thousands of dollars went through digital assets.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said terrorist groups rely on “sophisticated financial facilitators”. The article did not identify the coins or exchanges involved. Last month the Justice Department seized more than $560,000 in crypto headed for Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades.

Market snapshot

Prices were steady. On 3 October, Coingabbar put bitcoin at $84,628, down 0.6 percent in 24 hours. Ether traded at $2,679.85, down 1.2 percent. Global crypto market capitalisation stood at about $2.97 trillion. Bitcoin dominance was 57.2 percent. The Fear and Greed Index read 67, or greed.

Security news also drew attention. Consensys said part of MetaMask’s infrastructure had been breached. Some Ethereum staking machines were shut down and validator keys rotated. Founder Joseph Lubin said users’ recovery phrases, keys and wallet assets were not part of the incident.

For readers, the lesson is practical. Regulators now watch charity-style fundraising on social media closely. Compliance teams at exchanges face more pressure to trace wallets. Our earlier market report is here: bitcoin holds near $84,600.

Traders should expect more such actions. Sanctions lists now routinely include wallet addresses, which can freeze funds at regulated platforms.

Fact basis: Crypto Times (3 October 2026), Coingabbar market summary (3 October 2026), Cryptopolitan on the MetaMask incident. Not investment advice. Crypto assets are volatile; do your own research.