FBI seizes Hamas crypto sites, intercepts donations

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized domains and servers tied to Hamas fundraising, recovered more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency during earlier seizures, and then used the captured infrastructure to intercept further donations and gather donor data, the Justice Department disclosed.

Federal investigators obtained court-authorized warrants in March, June and October 2025 after tracing rotating donation addresses that were shared in encrypted chats and on fundraising websites. Using blockchain analysis, agents followed transfers of digital assets and secured more than $560,000 through those earlier seizures.

Court orders required centralized crypto providers to move targeted funds. Tether was ordered to burn specified USDT and reissue an equivalent amount to an address controlled by law enforcement, while Binance transferred identified account balances into wallets controlled by the FBI. Those steps allowed agents to recover assets after tracing where the money had flowed.

Investigators targeted infrastructure tied to the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, including the alqassam.ps domain. Affidavits filed in mid-2025 showed authenticated responses from [email protected] were routed through host.alaqsaflood.org, which helped link fundraising communications to specific servers.

The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office worked with human sources to identify and seize the related domains and servers, then assumed control of that infrastructure.

Once agents controlled the sites and servers, the investigation shifted from tracing past transfers to actively intercepting donations intended for Hamas and collecting additional data on people attempting to contribute. The Justice Department did not disclose how much additional cryptocurrency was captured through the seized systems or how much identifying information came directly from those servers.

The broader investigation produced information on thousands of people who contacted Hamas online seeking to donate by cryptocurrency or through traditional payment methods. The Justice Department noted that being identified in the inquiry does not establish that a person completed a donation or committed an offense.

Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, issued a statement saying the operation focused on reducing the ability of foreign terrorist organizations to receive donations and on creating distrust among their donors.

The Justice Department has not detailed subsequent legal steps or whether the disrupted infrastructure will be used in further operations.