Federal investigators seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency bound for Hamas's military wing and took control of the terror group's fundraising websites, while quietly building a list of thousands of Americans and others who tried to send money.
The Department of Justice announced this week that the FBI conducted three separate court-authorized seizure operations, on March 25, June 25, and October 10, 2025, targeting cryptocurrency wallets funneling donations to Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades. Agents also seized the domains and servers behind AlQassam.ps, the main website of the militant wing, dismantling an online infrastructure Hamas had used for both fundraising and recruitment, the New York Post reported.
The operation did more than cut off cash. Investigators obtained the names and identities of thousands of individuals who contacted Hamas online seeking to donate or provide financial support, information the FBI said it will fold into ongoing counterterrorism work.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro framed the seizure as a direct warning to the terror group. In a video posted on X, she laid out the stakes plainly:
"By seizing their servers and their domains, we were able to directly intercept money that was going to be used by the military wing of Hamas, the Al Qassam Brigade."
Pirro added that investigators now hold a trove of donor data.
"And to add a little more interest to this, we also now have the names and identities of thousands of individuals who tried to give money to Hamas that we were able to intercept."
The terror group's cryptocurrency fundraising operation was not improvised. Hamas began testing virtual currency solicitation around early 2019, using the encrypted messaging platform Telegram and anonymous online donation methods, AP News reported. The group told prospective donors the funds would be untraceable, a promise that turned out to be hollow.
A confidential U.S.-based source tipped law enforcement to a Telegram post soliciting donations, triggering the investigative breakthrough. From there, agents identified a group chat claiming ties to Hamas that directed supporters to a fundraising website and a rotating set of cryptocurrency donation addresses. The FBI used multiple human sources across three separate occasions to identify, trace, and ultimately seize the funds.
The seized cryptocurrency, approximately $560,000 across the three operations, was intended to finance the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing responsible for the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel that killed roughly 1,200 people.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg drew the line directly to that attack:
"These seizures deprive Hamas of resources it relies on to recruit and radicalize individuals online and finance barbaric attacks like the one on October 7, 2023."
Eisenberg pledged the pressure would continue.
"We will continue to tighten the vise on Hamas's capacity for terror by infiltrating its online networks, confiscating its cryptocurrency, and shutting down its websites."
The operation extended beyond the DOJ's national security division. Brett Leatherman, the FBI's Assistant Director for the Cyber Division, said the bureau would "continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations," Newsmax reported.
That language points to a growing federal capability, and willingness, to pursue terror financing through blockchain analysis and human intelligence working in tandem. Hamas built its crypto pipeline on the assumption that decentralized digital currencies sat beyond the reach of Western law enforcement. Three seizure operations in seven months proved otherwise.
The seizure of domains and servers is arguably as significant as the money itself. By taking control of AlQassam.ps and associated communication platforms, the FBI didn't just block donations, it dismantled the online recruitment apparatus Hamas used to radicalize supporters and solicit operational support. Just The News noted that the action dealt a blow to both the financial and operational networks of the terror group.
Perhaps the most consequential piece of this operation is what comes next. The FBI now holds identifying information on thousands of people who attempted to send money to a designated terrorist organization. No arrests have been announced yet, but the DOJ made clear the data will be used in ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
Under federal law, knowingly providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization is a serious crime carrying steep prison sentences. Whether prosecutors pursue individual donors, and how far that net extends, remains an open question. But the message from Pirro was unambiguous.
"A message to Hamas: We will stop your fundraising for terror. Your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated."
The DOJ did not disclose the nationality or location of the individuals identified, nor did it specify which types of cryptocurrency were seized. The specific court authorizing the seizures and the case docket number were also not publicly released.
For years, critics warned that terrorist organizations were exploiting the perceived anonymity of cryptocurrency to move money beyond the reach of sanctions and banking regulations. This operation suggests the gap between perception and reality is closing, and that the people who believed they could fund terror from behind a screen may find out they were never as invisible as Hamas promised them they were.
When a terror group tells donors their money is untraceable and the FBI traces every dollar anyway, that is not just a law enforcement win, it is the system working exactly as it should.
