- The U.S. Treasury has blacklisted the Bitcoin address of a terrorist fundraiser
- Farrukh Furkatovitch Fayzimatov was soliciting donations for a Syria-based terror group
- The announcement has sparked another debate about Bitcoin’s use and suitability as a form of money for criminals
The U.S. Treasury has blacklisted another Bitcoin address linked to terrorism financing in a move that Bitcoin critics have used as another example of its illegal use. The Treasury announced the blacklisting of the Bitcoin address, a move it also conducted in 2018, which it says belongs to Farrukh Furkatovitch Fayzimatov, a supporter of and fundraiser for Hay’et Tahrir Al-Sham, a Syrian-based terror outlift linked to Al Qaeda. Fayzimatov’s Bitcoin address is now being monitored and existing transactions are also being examined and traced, while Bitcoin critics and supporters argue over Bitcoin’s role in the affair.
Bitcoin Critics Point to Criminal Use
The announcement from the Treasury gives Bitcoin critics more ammunition in their case to show that one of Bitcoin’s few use cases is financing criminal operations, and on the surface this cannot be argued against. The issue however is that headline-making stories such as this one are not reflective of the 200,000+ Bitcoin transactions that take place per day, the vast majority of which are for trading purposes. So while this story will reinforce the ‘Bitcoin=criminal use’ narrative, the truth is much different.
Supporters Point to Lack of Suitability for Criminal Use
Bitcoin advocates can use this story to point once again to the fact that open cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not an anonymous method of transferring funds, which is something many critics level at it. As has been evidenced many times, all Bitcoin transactions are available to be traced and viewed online by anyone.
Although the addresses are not inherently linked to an individual outright, once an address of any party involved in a series of transactions like the example above it is easy to see who else has been interacting with them. In this case it just takes the positive linking of one individual with a Bitcoin address to bring an entire network under investigation. This is not something that can be achieved with cash deals, which is why terrorists and criminals still prefer cash.
