The DOJ seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency meant for Hamas and took down the terrorist group's online fundraising and recruitment network, a strike U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro called a "massive blow against foreign terrorism."
Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced Tuesday that the FBI had identified, traced, and seized the funds across three separate operations in 2025 while simultaneously taking control of Hamas-linked servers, domains, and communication platforms. The seizure targeted money destined for Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the same arm responsible for planning and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians.
Federal investigators also walked away with something potentially more valuable than the cryptocurrency itself: the names and identities of thousands of individuals who allegedly tried to funnel money to the designated terrorist organization. That intelligence haul now feeds directly into ongoing counterterrorism work.
Federal court documents obtained by Fox Business lay out the mechanics. Investigators used information from multiple confidential human sources to identify an encrypted group chat that claimed affiliation with Hamas. That chat steered supporters toward a fundraising website and a rotating set of cryptocurrency donation addresses, a tactic designed to make the money harder to trace.
On three dates, March 25, June 25, and October 10, 2025, the FBI moved to identify, trace, and seize approximately $560,000 in cryptocurrency earmarked for the Al-Qassam Brigades. Once investigators gained control of the underlying online infrastructure, they were able to intercept donations as they came in.
The operation also took down AlQassam.ps, the main website of Hamas's military wing, the New York Post reported. Servers and domains tied to the group's recruitment efforts were seized alongside the financial assets.
The terrorist organization did not stumble into digital fundraising overnight. AP News reported that Hamas began testing virtual currency for fundraising around early 2019, soliciting donations through Telegram and direct online channels. The group promoted cryptocurrency donations as untraceable, a selling point that, as Tuesday's announcement made clear, turned out to be false.
A confidential U.S.-based source played a key role in cracking the case, Newsmax reported. That source helped the FBI penetrate the network and map the flow of funds from would-be donors to Hamas operatives.
The detail matters. Hamas bet that cryptocurrency would let it raise money beyond the reach of American law enforcement. The FBI proved otherwise, not with a single raid, but with a patient, months-long intelligence operation that let agents trace the money, identify the donors, and then pull the plug on the entire infrastructure at once.
Pirro did not hold back in her public remarks:
"My office just struck a massive blow against foreign terrorism in seizing over $560,000 in crypto and dismantling Hamas' online recruitment by seizing their servers and their domains."
She followed that with a direct message to the terrorist organization:
"My message to Hamas is clear. Your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated for once and for all."
Pirro also stressed the scope of the intelligence gathered. "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," she said. That line carries weight beyond the immediate seizure. It signals that the DOJ now holds a database of people who actively sought to finance a designated terrorist organization, and that the information will be used.
Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg, who leads the DOJ's National Security Division, tied the operation to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. As Just The News reported, Eisenberg said the 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 added a forward-looking pledge: "We will continue to tighten the vise on Hamas's capacity for terror by infiltrating its online network, confiscating its cryptocurrency, and shutting down its websites."
FBI Assistant Director Brett Leatherman, who heads the bureau's Cyber Division, echoed that posture, saying the FBI would "continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations."
Taken together, the statements from Pirro, Eisenberg, and Leatherman describe an enforcement posture that treats terrorist cryptocurrency fundraising not as a one-off bust but as a sustained campaign. The three 2025 seizure dates, spread across seven months, support that framing. This was not a single lucky intercept. It was a rolling operation.
The seizure of $560,000 is significant on its own, but the intelligence yield may prove more consequential. Investigators obtained information on thousands of people who contacted Hamas online seeking to donate or provide financial support through cryptocurrency. Whether those individuals are located in the United States, overseas, or both remains unclear from the public record so far.
Equally unclear: whether the DOJ intends to bring criminal charges against any of those would-be donors. Providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization is a federal crime carrying up to 20 years in prison. The fact that the FBI now holds the identities of thousands of people who allegedly tried to do exactly that creates a massive potential caseload, or, at minimum, a powerful deterrent.
Several details remain undisclosed. The specific type of cryptocurrency seized, whether Bitcoin, Ethereum, or another token, has not been identified in public statements. The platform hosting the encrypted group chat has not been named. And the specific federal court and case number tied to the underlying filings have not been made public.
For years, terrorist organizations and their sympathizers have treated cryptocurrency as a safe harbor, a way to move money outside the traditional banking system and beyond the reach of sanctions enforcement. Tuesday's announcement is the latest evidence that the safe harbor is not as safe as advertised. When the FBI can plant human sources inside encrypted chats, trace rotating wallet addresses across months of transactions, and then seize both the money and the infrastructure in a coordinated takedown, the supposed anonymity of crypto becomes a liability for the people using it.
The people who should worry most are not the Hamas operatives who already knew they were targets. They are the thousands of would-be donors who thought a digital wallet would keep their names out of a federal file. It didn't.
