- A new report shows that Hezbollah and the Hamas fraction prefer to transact in Tron (TRX) to Bitcoin (BTC) based on the number of wallets seized.
- With the organizations regarded as Terror groups, Tron has defended its technology, noting that it did not have control over its use.
The Tron blockchain has overtaken Bitcoin in use by Hamas and Hezbollah. According to an analysis by Reuters, the number of Tron (TRX) wallets seized since 2021 has skyrocketed while that of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen. Of note, Hezbollah and Hamas are designated as terror groups by the U.S. and the UK. In recent weeks, their popularity has risen after the infamous attack on Israel by the Hamas.
Since that attack, Israel with the support of Western countries has invaded Palestine which is controlled by Hamas. Lebanon-based Hezbollah which has also been involved in conflict with Israel has come out in support of Hamas and is taking advantage of the situation to launch a new wave of attacks.
With world governments trying to permanently erradicate the groups, the U.S. government in particular has placed financial sanctions on the groups. This has led to hundreds of crypto wallets and exchange accounts being banned and blacklisted. Cryptocurrencies remain one of the ways, these terror groups are able to finance their activity. After these sanctions were announced, leading crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase suspended hundreds of accounts linked to the groups.
The analysis by Reuters shows that Israel has made 87 seizures from Tron wallets this year, two-thirds of the total since 2021. Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of blockchain analysis firm Merkle Science, noted;
Earlier it was Bitcoin and now our data shows that these terrorist organizations tend to increasingly favor Tron,
Of this, 39 were owned by Lebanon-based Hezbollah while 26 were connected to Palestine-based Hamas. The analyst cites faster speeds and low transaction costs for the group’s choice of the Tron blockchain. Furthermore, regulators increased scrutiny of the Bitcoin network has driven such groups to other projects like Tron. Iran which has also been in the thick of the situation for its indirect support of Hamas has also in the past used Tron to evade U.S sanctions, completing $8 billion in transactions between 2018 and 2022.
A Tron spokesperson has defended the project noting that “in theory be used for questionable activities.” The project further pleads innocence in that it does not have control over the use of the technology. Rightfully, the Tron blockchain and indeed nearly all blockchains offer much more than financial evasion and it is increasingly evident that this fraction accounts for a small percentage of the total.
For the most part, Tron and the rest of the industry are looking to revolutionize the financial industry. Drawing examples from the Stellar blockchain, the technology offers solutions to refugees and victims of catastrophes such as terror attacks, by allowing easy access to financial aid to the affected.
Related: How Stellar’s Blockchain Technology is Empowering Impoverished Communities
