Evidence of ISIS' use of cryptography mounts - TRM Labs

Blockchain intelligence platform TRM Labs has revealed that USDT on the Tron network is the top choice for transactions between ISIS affiliates in Asia.

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Blockchain intelligence platform TRM Labs recently released a report highlighting the growing use of cryptocurrency by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) affiliates across Asia. He has linked important on-chain connections between these groups and pro-ISIS fundraising campaigns in Syria.

Published on July 21, the report says there is "growing on-chain evidence" over the past twelve months that pro-ISIS networks in Tajikistan, Indonesia and Afghanistan have used cryptocurrency to facilitate operations.

According to TRM, the majority of case-related transactions involved the use of Tether (USDT) on the Tron network.

TRM report excerpt. Source: TRM Labs

On July 21, Cointelegraph covered a presentation by Tara Annison, former crypto technical advisory manager at Elliptic, where she also pointed out that Tron and Tether were popular assets for illicit use. She noted that criminals are moving away from Bitcoin (BTC) towards stablecoins.

Annison explained that decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have high liquidity and “really good volume,” which makes it “super easy” to launder money.

A significant number of individuals using Indonesia-based exchanges to send funds to addresses associated with pro-ISIS fundraising campaigns in Syria were also highlighted in the report. It stated:

"Over $517,000 was sent in 2022 by individuals using an Indonesia-based exchange...