New crypto front Tron emerges in Israel's militant financing fight
Tron.
Quicker and cheaper than its larger rival Bitcoin, Tron has overtaken its rival as a platform for crypto transfers associated with groups designated as terror organisations by Israel, the United States and other countries, according to interviews with seven financial crime experts and blockchain investigations specialists.
Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses
Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIIM LucknowIIML Executive Programme in FinTech, Banking & Applied Risk ManagementVisitIIT DelhiIITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine LearningVisitIIM KozhikodeIIMK Advanced Data Science For ManagersVisit A Reuters' analysis of crypto seizures announced by Israeli security services since 2021 reflects the trend, showing for the first time a sharp rise in the targeting of Tron wallets and a fall in Bitcoin wallet seizures.
«Earlier it was Bitcoin and now our data shows that these terrorist organisations tend to increasingly favor Tron,» said Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of New York-based blockchain analysis firm Merkle Science, citing Tron's faster transaction times, low fees, and stability.
Merkle Science says it counts law enforcement agencies in the United States, Britain and Singapore as clients.
Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), which is responsible for such seizures, froze 143 Tron wallets between July 2021 and October 2023 that it believed were connected to a «designated terrorist organization» or used for a «severe terror crime,» the Reuters analysis found.
The October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel killed around 1,200 people. Israel's subsequent bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed some 14,000 people. In its response, Israel has also stepped up
