Crypto exchange platform Binance has seized the accounts of numerous Palestinian users at the request of the Israeli government for allegedly being linked to “illicit funds” and “terrorist organizations.”
“Cryptocurrencies transferred by a declared terrorist organization … and cryptocurrency wallets to which said property was transferred constitute property that was directly used to commit a serious terrorist offense… as defined in the Anti-Terrorism Law,” reads a letter circulated by Binance from the Israeli Ministry of Defense and signed by the head of its National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing, Paul Landes.
The letter continues: “…and therefore in accordance with the provisions the law allows the Minister of Defense to order their seizure by administrative order in preparation for their confiscation.”
According to Ray Youssef, co-founder of crypto marketplace Paxful, Binance has “[refused] to return the funds. All appeals denied.”
“All Palestinians are affected, and judging by the way things are going, all Lebanese and Syrians will get the same treatment. Not your keys, not your coins,” Youssef added.
“Only a limited number of user accounts linked to illicit funds were blocked from transacting. There have been some incorrect statements about this,” Binance CEO Richard Teng said on 28 August.
“As a global crypto exchange, we comply with internationally accepted anti-money laundering legislation, just like any other financial institution,” he added.
Binance has yet to provide details on the number of affected users and when the restrictions were enforced.
BREAKING: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has seized all Palestinian assets at Israel's request pic.twitter.com/rxXQQaYrCC
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) August 27, 2024
“Palestine is a minor market for Binance, with Palestine’s traffic share amounting to roughly 0.05 [percent] of Binance’s visits over the past year,” Cointelegraph reports, citing data from website analytics source SimilarWeb.
Nevertheless, Palestine’s traffic on Binance has reportedly surged more than 80 percent since August 2023.
