Crypto

UN Palestinian aid agency's cryptocurrency wallets investigated over Hamas ties

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2024

UN Palestinian aid agency's cryptocurrency wallets investigated over Hamas ties

EXCLUSIVE — An Israeli firm that helped authorities claw back $90 million worth of Hamas-owned cryptocurrency is investigating digital wallets held by the leading Palestinian aid agency for the United Nations, the Washington Examiner has learned.

Lionsgate Network, a Tel Aviv-based company staffed by blockchain analysts, specializes in cash recovery services for investors and was notably enlisted by Israel’s Ministry of Defense to intercept funds linked to Hamas after the terrorist faction’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state. Now, Lionsgate has embarked on a new project: tracking the flow of crypto donations to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, whose since-fired employees were recently accused by Israel of participating in the Hamas-led massacre, prompting the United States and other countries to pause aid to UNRWA.

“Our company’s vision is to secure crypto transactions and eliminate financial transactions targeting communities around the world,” Lionsgate Network CEO Bezalel Raviv told the Washington Examiner. “There is a loophole in the financial system, and it’s no longer a very small group of people. It’s like 1.5% of the world’s capital — we’re talking about over $1.5 trillion U.S. dollars.”

The startup’s investigation underscores how UNRWA, which has long earned the ire of foreign policy experts and lawmakers over its ties to Hamas, is being comprehensively scrutinized by watchdogs after the Oct. 7 attack. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced legislation on Monday that would ban U.S. funds to UNRWA. The Biden administration renewed aid in 2021 to the Palestinian aid agency just three years after former President Donald Trump cut off support to UNRWA over concerns stemming from its ties to terrorism and the hiring of antisemitic employees.

In turn, Biden’s decision has culminated in taxpayers footing the bill for at least $730 million in payments to UNRWA since 2021. The U.S. government said on Tuesday that over 99% of U.S. funds approved by Congress for the UNRWA have already been sent to it — with just $300,000 still on hold.

UNRWA formed in 1949 “to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestinian refugees.” But critics say it unjustly relieves Hamas, which controls Gaza, of responsibilities to provide basic services to civilians. The agency, which is led by Swiss Italian Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, faces an uncertain future after Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted that Israeli allegations about its employees participating in Oct. 7 are “highly credible.”

UNRWA has a 501(c)(3) charity in the U.S. that accepts crypto donations, such as bitcoin, a digital asset that, for federal tax purposes, is treated as “property,” according to the IRS and digital software records. The crypto option stems from the UNRWA charity’s partnership in December 2021 with the Giving Block, a fundraising platform for tax-exempt organizations.

Commissioner general of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini looks on during a meeting with officials from Western and Arab nations, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

Raviv said his company is tracking specific blockchain transactions to see where donations to the Palestinian aid agency end up and is in conversation with the U.S. State Department on certain projects.

While Lionsgate successfully worked to recover cash from Hamas, the terrorist group has become more elusive and shifted its assets around, the CEO told the Washington Examiner. Hamas and other terrorist groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have increasingly turned to crypto in recent years because its decentralized nature affords secrecy, according to multiple reports.

After Oct. 7, the U.S. government sanctioned the Gaza-based Buy Cash, a company that saw its wallets seized in 2021 by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing “in connection to a Hamas fundraising campaign,” the U.S. Treasury Department said. Crypto coins are stored by users in what are known as digital wallets, which contain information such as private passwords and confidential data, according to Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the world.

Lionsgate’s investigation into UNRWA is independent and, for the time being, not on behalf of any clients, according to Raviv.

“Conversations with the State Department are becoming closer because one of the Hamas wallets is still active and over $40 million is moving in and out,” Raviv said.

The Tel Aviv-based analytics and software firm BitOK found Hamas-tied crypto wallets raked in the cash between roughly August 2021 and June 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Awareness is key,” he said. “We really want to encourage communities and people who are active in the crypto community to look at the problems and solutions.”

Aside from crypto, UNRWA’s charity in the U.S. routinely takes large sums through donor-advised funds, which allow wealthy contributors to shield their names from publicly released financial disclosures. The arrangement is often criticized by watchdogs as a “dark money” loophole.

UNRWA’s charity in the U.S., for instance, accepted $262,578 in 2022 through the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, tax forms show.

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That year, $109,280 also flowed through the Schwab Charitable Fund to the UNRWA’s U.S. outfit.

UNRWA and the State Department did not return requests for comment.

Related Topics:cryptocurrency gaza Hamas israel news terrorism United Nations

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Crypto

Fintech Stock SoFi Technologies Just Proved That the Ultimate Cryptocurrency Has a Clear Use Case | The Motley Fool

Published

7 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Fintech Stock SoFi Technologies Just Proved That the Ultimate Cryptocurrency Has a Clear Use Case | The Motley Fool

If a company, particularly one that operates in the otherwise boring and slow-moving financial services industry, has seen its revenue soar 133% in three years, it’s clearly doing something right. That’s the best way to describe SoFi Technologies (SOFI +1.48%). The digital banking superstar ended 2025 with almost 13.7 million customers.

Product innovation has been a key pillar of SoFi’s success, and in recent months, this core competency has been on full display. This fintech stock just proved that the ultimate cryptocurrency has a clear use case.

Image source: Getty Images.

Giving its members another tool to better handle their finances

SoFi tapped Lightspark, a payments start-up founded in 2022 by former Meta Platforms executive David Marcus, to enable cross-border payments for its customers. Lightspark provides the back-end infrastructure, while SoFi Pay users can leverage this exciting capability.

This feature leans on the Bitcoin (BTC +3.99%) Lightning network, a Layer-2 protocol that allows for fast and cheap transactions to occur.

What stands out with this is that SoFi doesn’t necessarily need to be bullish on Bitcoin. The management team simply picked what it thought was the most capable technological solution that could rapidly integrate and scale up. Since it was introduced in August last year, SoFi Pay now facilitates remittances to over 30 countries.

At a high level, the person sending the money and the person receiving the money deal with their own respective local currencies. Underneath the hood, SoFi and Lightspark handle the conversion to and from Bitcoin.

Besides how easy the feature is to use, SoFi could save its customers a lot of money. In 2024, $138 billion of remittances were sent from the U.S. to India, for example. Money-transfer services charge average fees that can be well above 5% of the value being sent.

Today’s Change

(3.99%) $2717.74

Current Price

$70898.00

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.4T

Day’s Range

$67564.00 – $71646.00

52wk Range

$60255.56 – $126079.89

Volume

56B

Propelling the top digital asset to its next stage of development

This product introduction shows how innovative SoFi is, as the popular banking platform isn’t afraid to try new things with the top priority being to better serve its members.

Additionally, this move is a clear signal to the rest of the world that Bitcoin has a use case in the finance world. Looking ahead, it will be important to pay attention to any commentary SoFi’s leadership team provides on adoption trends. Other banks might choose to do something similar.

I believe we’re now witnessing the early innings of Bitcoin’s next evolutionary phase to becoming a medium of exchange. It has been a wonderful investment, with a trailing 10-year return of 18,000% (as of March 18). While I expect strong gains to continue, the crypto asset’s ability to transfer value around the globe is impossible to overstate and will be critical for its long-term viability.

Should Bitcoin be leaned on more for its utility value, it provides durable demand. This can support a higher price in the future.

Crypto

The Best Crypto to Buy for Long-Term Investors Right Now | The Motley Fool

Published

19 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

The Best Crypto to Buy for Long-Term Investors Right Now | The Motley Fool

Despite its position as a multitrillion-dollar asset class, the cryptocurrency industry is still trying to prove itself as a viable place to park capital. Volatility remains a challenge. And there is no shortage of critics who still believe these digital assets serve no purpose.

Even after considering these arguments, investors might want to test the waters for the sake of boosting the returns of their portfolios. Here’s the best cryptocurrency that long-term investors should buy.

Image source: Getty Images.

Start with the world’s prime digital asset

According to coinmarketcap.com, there are tens of millions of different cryptocurrencies out there that make up this relatively new asset class. That huge figure can distract investors who are serious about where to allocate their hard-earned savings. In this situation, simplicity is key. Stick to the proven crypto that has developed a dominant position: Bitcoin (BTC 0.57%).

Bitcoin has been around for more than 17 years, ever since its first block was mined in January 2009. This makes it the first cryptocurrency. Its market cap of $1.4 trillion (as of March 18) gives it almost 60% share of the entire industry.

And the performance is phenomenal. In the past 10 years, Bitcoin’s price has skyrocketed 18,000%. It has been one of the best assets that anyone could have owned this century.

You might be wondering what problem Bitcoin solves. It was created to be a solution to the current monetary system, which has its own issues. These center on persistent currency debasement and monumental, ever-increasing amounts of sovereign debt.

Bitcoin’s absolute scarcity, shown by its hard supply cap of 21 million units, is its most compelling feature. It’s also not controlled by a single entity, is completely decentralized, and has never been hacked.

Today’s Change

(-0.57%) $-390.91

Current Price

$68392.00

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.4T

Day’s Range

$67564.00 – $68885.00

52wk Range

$60255.56 – $126079.89

Volume

34B

Expect the volatility to continue, but the gains can be massive

Because Bitcoin is an emerging monetary asset, the volatility isn’t going away just yet. Over time, the price swings have gotten less extreme. However, the ups and downs are something long-term investors can’t avoid. This isn’t unique to Bitcoin. Some of the most impressive technology stocks over the past couple of decades, like Nvidia, Amazon, and Netflix, were extremely difficult to hold on to during times of intense volatility.

As was the case with those disruptive businesses, patient investors will be rewarded in this situation. Bitcoin is currently trading 41% below its record price from about five months ago. But it has historically always recovered to reach newer all-time highs. Its fundamentals, particularly around network security, transaction volume, and adoption trends, are all in strong shape.

Investors who can buy Bitcoin and hold for 10 years are setting themselves up for success.

Crypto

2 Cryptocurrencies That Could Double Over the Next 5 Years | The Motley Fool

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

2 Cryptocurrencies That Could Double Over the Next 5 Years | The Motley Fool

The recent downturn in the crypto market has pushed many leading digital assets to significantly discounted levels, creating potential opportunities for long-term investors. Right now, many major cryptocurrencies are trading 50% or more below their all-time highs. Theoretically, all of them are prime candidates to double in value over the next five years, if not sooner.

Here are two cryptos trading at deep-discount valuations to their all-time highs, with plenty of potential new catalysts on the way in 2026. Both are solid comeback plays.

Bitcoin

At $74,000, Bitcoin (BTC 3.15%) is now trading 42% below its all-time high of $126,000 from October 2025. That’s a steep reversal of fortune for a cryptocurrency that seemed to be on a rocket ship to $200,000 at the start of 2025.

That’s why I think Bitcoin may be oversold right now. There’s plenty of reason to think that Bitcoin will reclaim its all-time high from 2025, and then climb ever higher to the $150,000 price level.

Image source: Getty Images.

In fact, online prediction markets currently give Bitcoin a 12% chance of doubling in value this year to hit $150,000. Even better, Bitcoin also has a slim chance (5%) of hitting the $200,000 price level before 2027.

Right now, there are two major catalysts for Bitcoin. One is the return of the “digital gold” investment thesis for Bitcoin. Suddenly, Bitcoin is a safe-haven asset, similar to physical gold. In the wake of Middle East hostilities, Bitcoin has held up admirably. It’s now up nearly 10% since the launch of missile strikes on Iran.

The other key catalyst is the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The thinking now is the Republican administration might be tempted to pump up the price of Bitcoin ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, in order to advance their own political ambitions. To do so, they might initiate the buying of new Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. That might sound implausible (or perhaps deeply cynical), but plenty of high-profile investors think it might happen, including Cathie Wood of Ark Invest.

XRP

XRP (XRP 3.76%) is another beaten-down cryptocurrency that seemed to be on a rocket ship to the double-digit price range. But, alas, XRP hit a 52-week high of $3.65 in July 2025, and never recovered. It’s been on an epic swoon since then, and currently trades for just $1.50.

Today’s Change

(-3.76%) $-0.05

Current Price

$1.39

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$85B

Day’s Range

$1.38 – $1.44

52wk Range

$1.14 – $3.65

Volume

1.8B

But here’s the thing: Ripple, the company behind the XRP crypto token, recently laid out a five-year plan for XRP that should help to send it much higher over the next few years. Investors will need to be patient, but XRP might regain the $3 price point as early as this year. Online prediction markets currently give XRP a 20% chance of hitting $3 before 2027.

Thanks to a series of blockchain and crypto-related acquisitions worth more than a combined $3 billion, Ripple is now working on a strategy to find more use cases for the XRP token and boost overall institutional adoption. As a base-case scenario, XRP should begin to account for a greater and greater percentage of global cross-border payments. According to executives at Ripple, that figure could be as high as 14% by the year 2030.

How long will it take to double in value?

Just keep in mind: There are no sure things in crypto, even for market behemoths such as Bitcoin and XRP. Before these two cryptos head higher, there may be a series of feints, head-fakes, and double-moves, making it close to impossible for crypto investors to tell what’s really happening until it’s too late.

As a result, it might take as long as five years for these two cryptocurrencies to double in value. But I’m highly confident that a modest upfront investment in these two cryptocurrencies today will pay off big later, as long as investors are willing to buy and hold for the long haul.