Thread by @jseldin

#terrorists - #cryptocurrency

@DHSgov Office of Intelligence & Analysis has observing " growing & concerning trend" per Deputy Undersecretary Stephanie Dobitsch

"Most of this activity has occurred by terrorist groups and associates overseas spanning the ideological spectrum"

"For example, supporters of #ISIS & #alQaida have solicited cryptocurrency donations" per Dobitsch "Earlier this year a pro al-Qaida media group offered a reward of one bitcoin worth about $60,000 at the time to the first person to kill a police officer in a Western country"

"We've also seen foreign racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists claim that their activities were supported by the use of crypto currencies" @DHSgov's Dobitsch tells lawmakers

"The illicit use of #cryptocurrency is a small fraction of the global transactions that occur daily & many malicious actors particularly foreign terrorist groups are still relying on traditional means of funding" per @DHSgov's Dobitsch

#cryptocurrency - "As technology becomes more accessible & more scrutiny is applied to traditional banking systems, we expect to see more activity" per @DHSgov's Dobitsch

"Investigations related to related #cryptocurrency have risen from a single criminal investigation in 2011 to over 604 active criminal investigations & $80 million in cryptocurrency seizures in this year alone" per Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Asst Dir
John Eisert

HSI op last year w/@FBI @IRSnews into 24 #cryptocurrency account id'd as linked to #alQaida, per Eisert

Resulted in the seizure of 60 #cryptocurrency wallets worth $80 million

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have also targeted #Hamas, Eisert tells lawmakers

#cryptocurrency-terrorism: "We're really in the nascent stages" per @DHSgov Office of Intelligence & Analysis Deputy Undersecretary Stephanie Dobitsch

Overseas terror groups, "They remain reliant on traditional sources of funding, but we are seeing increasing use of cryptocurrencies, particularly regarding soliciting donations & fundraising" per Dobitsch

Mainstream payments systems like @PayPal @gofundme "have identified criminal activity & pushed them off their networks" per @ICEgov's Eisert

"That is one of the reasons we're starting to see an increase in these alternate forms of payment systems like #cryptocurrency"