Arizona Tribune - New MEMRI Study: 'The Coming Storm - Part III: As The Trump Administration Moves To Limit Hamas, Hizbullah, Houthi, ISIS, And IRGC Use Of Cryptocurrency And Blockchain, More Action Will Be Needed As These Groups Quickly Adapt'

This report is a follow-up to two major MEMRI studies on terrorist and extremists use of cryptocurrency: the 2019 report on the threat of jihadis' use of cryptocurrency, "The Coming Storm: Terrorists Using Cryptocurrency," as well as the 2022 report on the threat of cryptocurrency use by domestic terrorist groups, "The Eye Of The Storm: [Domestic] Terrorists Using Cryptocurrency - Part II - Following In Jihadis' Footsteps, Neo-Nazis Turn To Cryptocurrency" by Dr. Stalinsky and the research team at MEMRI's Violent Extremism Threat Monitor (VETM).

In the preface to Part I of this series, the late Lt.-Gen (ret.) Vincent R. Stewart, former Deputy Commander of the United States Cyber Command, former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) director, and former Senior Advisor and Chairman of the MEMRI Board of Advisors, highlighted the study's groundbreaking research: "This study is the first significant research of its kind to show the scope of cryptocurrency use by terrorist organizations and their supporters, for fundraising and for financing attacks, purchasing equipment, supporting fighters and their families, and more."

He went on to emphasize that report's importance for all those involved in counterterrorism efforts: "This landmark study shows undeniably that the future of terrorist funding and fundraising is happening now. The threat is too important to overlook; it must be researched and solutions must be arrived at, and this study is an important step in this direction. It will help educate those involved in the daily work of counterterrorism, and is a must-read for all those in government, the military, and academia who are concerned about this dangerous development."

This newest study in the series notes that because terrorist groups and their supporters now use and depend on cryptocurrency every day to fund their activities around the world, a clearly defined policy to stop such activity is long overdue. The second administration of President Donald Trump has included the crypto industry as a major part of its monetary policy - and it should also prioritize targeting terrorist use of cryptocurrency in its planned strategy to tackle jihadi fundraising.

Lead author Dr. Steven Stalinsky explained about the report: "MEMRI's team of researchers from its CJL and JTTM have found in 2025 a sharp increase in terrorist use of cryptocurrency, which is at its all-time high as these groups use continues to grow in sophistication. The Trump administration has done an excellent job at targeting these bad actors, but they are very adaptable and continue to look for new ways to use cryptocurrency."

Since 2014, members of the MEMRI CJL and JTTM team of researchers around the world have been studying terrorist groups' reliance on cryptocurrency, closely monitoring which groups favor which types, the purposes they use it for, and whether and under what circumstances they choose to open new crypto wallets or continue using particular wallets. From their earliest use of crypto, they have continued to develop and expand that use, with little or no pushback from the companies in question.

Fully credentialed members of media and government agencies may request a full copy of the report from [email protected]

To date jihadi groups have, on a range of platforms, raised tens of millions of dollars, even possibly billions, in cryptocurrency for "funding field operations," purchasing weapons and materials for weapons manufacturing for carrying out "qualitative operations" to "confront terrorism and occupation." Their appeals are in many languages - not just Arabic, but also English, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, French, and many others spanning the globe.

While jihadi groups have embraced leading cryptocurrency wallets and companies, they have also started dabbling in creating their own alternatives to try to fundraise for jihad overtly and covertly using cryptocurrency. Across the U.S. and the West there are jihadi users of cryptocurrency; other facilitators of this "financial jihad" include sheikhs and organizations, whose calls and outreach on this matter have escalated since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, among other examples.

Terrorist groups and followers from Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi, ISIS, and the IRGCare documented in this study.

ABOUT THE JIHAD & TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR (JTTM)

The MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) scrutinizes Islamist terrorism and violent extremism worldwide, with special focus on activity within and emanating from the Arab world, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, as well as on attacks and activity in the West inspired and encouraged by the Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and other global jihad organizations. This activity includes lone-wolf attacks by residents of Western countries.

The JTTM monitors imminent and potential threats posed by various terrorist and violent extremist organizations - such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, and emerging jihadi groups - and individuals. These threats, whether strategic, tactical, military, conventional, non-conventional, or cyber, may be against national security and public safety in the U.S. and the West, or against these countries' crucial interests and assets worldwide. It also examines and analyzes the ideological motivations behind these threats, and includes a decade and a half of archives of exclusive content on jihad and terrorism.

ABOUT THE CYBER & JIHAD LAB (CJL)

The MEMRI Cyber & Jihad Lab monitors, tracks, translates, and researches jihadi, secular, and other types of hacktivist groups and activity emanating from the Middle East, Iran, and South Asia, and studies jihadis on social media and online, with a focus on their use of encryption and other technologies. It works with tech companies to help come up with solutions for dealing with jihadis and terrorists online, and with legislatures to help develop laws for tackling this phenomenon. It also assists the business community in matters of cyberattacks and cyber threats from these sources.

MEMRI research and translation efforts on identifying jihadi and hacktivist activity have provided crucial resources to educate policymakers, media organizations, the public, and others. MEMRI asks for your help to continue this important work through tax-deductible donations.

About MEMRI:

Exploring the Middle East and South Asia through their media, MEMRI bridges the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu-Pashtu, Dari, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends.

Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. MEMRI's main office is located in Washington, DC, with branch offices in various world capitals. MEMRI research is translated into English, French, Polish, Japanese, Spanish and Hebrew.

MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute: www.memri.org

MEMRI TV - www.memri.org/tv

Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) - www.memri.org/jttm

Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL) - www.memri.org/cjlab

MEMRI Twitter: https://twitter.com/memrireports/
MEMRI YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC59Cpk70K2TwdmApJOTuW9g/videos

MEMRI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memrireports/

Contact Information:

MEMRI
[email protected]
202-955-9070
www.memri.org

SOURCE: Middle East Media Research Institute

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