Numerous terror organizations are now utilizing Tron over Bitcoin, according to a new report by Reuters released Monday.
Tron’s popularity is on the rise
“Earlier it was Bitcoin and now our data shows that these terrorist organizations increasingly favor Tron,” said Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of blockchain analytics firm, Merkle Science.
According to the report, Pattnaik claimed that the platform’s stability, fast transaction times, and small fees have all played a role in its growing appeal.
News of Tron’s increasing popularity follows an October 7th terrorist attack against the state of Israel which killed 1200 people. Israel has since conducted several military operations in response, resulting in the death of an estimated 14,000 Gazans.
Moreover, Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing seized 56 Tron wallets linked to Hamas alongside 39 belonging to Hezbollah and 26 belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The government takes on illicit digital assets
Shortly after the attack, the U.S. Senate and House led several hearings and discussions regarding prominent issues facing the cryptocurrency industry today, including combating illicit digital asset use and terror financing.
“We know that bad actors prey on vulnerabilities wherever they can find them,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry. “There’s a bipartisan agreement, though, that we must hold these bad actors to account in every way possible and, specifically, when it comes to digital assets and the digital asset ecosystem.”
Following the hearing, leaders of the committee led over 50 members of Congress in writing a letter to President Biden and US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, in order to engage in a bipartisan “fact-finding” mission aimed at better understanding illegitimate digital asset use by terrorist organizations.
“We request the White House and the Treasury to utilize the open blockchain ledger to assess the footprint of Hamas’s digital asset fundraising campaign,” stated House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. “In doing this, Congress can better understand the United States’ available tools and capabilities to target bad actors on blockchain and support legitimate digital asset use and innovation.”
Tron founder addresses controversy
Tron founder, Justin Sun, took to X Monday morning to address allegations of his company’s preference amongst terrorist organizations.
“While we are committed to combating terrorist financing by integrating various analysis projects and partners, our top priority remains maintaining decentralization, ensuring the safety of everyone’s assets, and providing instant, affordable, and reliable transactions, as has always been the case,” wrote Tron founder, Justin Sun, in a post on X.
It is currently unclear what, if any, tangible actions the company will take to address preventing designated terrorists from utilizing the network.
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