The U.S. Department of Justice has seized $201,400 in cryptocurrencies earmarked for Palestinian militant group Hamas, the agency announced on Thursday. 

Authorities took control of a cryptocurrency wallet holding $89,900, in addition to three accounts holding digital assets worth $111,500, the Justice Department said Thursday in a statement. The wallet addresses have been used to launder more than $1.5 million in digital currencies for Hamas since October 2024.

“These seizures show that this office will search high and low for every cent of money going to fund Hamas, wherever it is found, and in whatever form of currency,” U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia said Thursday in the statement. 

Since the early 2010s, cybercriminals and militant groups have used privacy-focused blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies to launder their ill-gotten gains and finance their operations. But over the past few years, U.S. authorities have cracked down on the practice, frustrating bad actors’ attempts to operate undetected. 

According to the DOJ, a group chat with alleged ties to Hamas enabled Hamas supporters to donate cryptocurrencies to at least 17 wallet addresses through an encrypted communications platform. Financiers and over-the-counter brokers launde...