The Israel-Hamas dispute in Gaza has thrust into the spotlight a problem that’s been flaring on the back burner for almost a decade: the financing networks for terrorism.
Now, U.S. and other Western government guard dogs, lawmakers, and others have refocused on the issue. And specifically on terrorists’ usage of digital cash– or cryptocurrency– that can be flashed around the globe without the analysis of banks or regulators.
It’s easy to overemphasize the importance of cryptocurrency. Violent nonstate groups get even more money through other formal and informal financial systems than from using bitcoin and other digital cash, terror-finance specialists say. It’s still an issue, and the bigger issue is a strategic one.
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Anti-terrorism is a cat-and-mouse video game. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack put a concentrate on using cryptocurrency by terrorist groups. Now, the United States reveals indications of splitting down. Will the alertness last?
Simply as Israeli and other intelligence firms ignored indications of a military accumulation in Gaza, financing guard dogs were preoccupied with other matters. They missed out on the opportunity to squeeze Hamas’ and other groups’ financing before these groups might act. (Hamas has actually been designated a terrorist company by the U.S. State Department considering that 1997.)
“We have actually taken our eyes off the ball on terrorism problems,” states Louise Shelley,
