Researcher Suggests ISIS is Fundraising with Bitcoin

Jan 29, 2015 at 12:40 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 11, 2021 at 11:28 a.m. UTC

New research from Singapore-based web intelligence firm S2T suggests Islamic State (ISIS) could be using bitcoin for fundraising.

Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz has reported that S2T analyst Ido Wulkan managed to find concrete evidence linking an ISIS cell based in the US to fundraising activities. The cell apparently used the dark web and bitcoin to cover its tracks.

Wulkan found a dark web site that urged supporters to donate bitcoin to the cause. The message, posted by a user named Abu Mustafa, stated that bitcoin donations are accepted by the cell.

"There was smoke, and now we have found the fire," Wulkan told Haaretz.

The bitcoin address listed on the site received around 5 BTC before being shut down. Furthermore, Wulkan said this could be a one-off fundraising effort, or even a hoax or a joke.

This is not the first time ISIS has been associated with bitcoin. A blog affiliated with the militant group discussed the possibility of using bitcoin for fundraising last year, but no evidence of bitcoin use by ISIS was ever found.

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