$ 500,000 in Bitcoin may have funded groups that planned an assault on Capitol Hill

The transfer of 28.15 Bitcoins from December 8 to 22, alt-right recipients may have been used to help organize the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, investigators believe.

Bitcoins were valued at over $ 500,000 at the time of transfer.

Chainanalysis examined the donations after Yahoo News alerted the organization of transactions on a French cryptocurrency exchange.

Groups allegedly involved in the deals include VDARE, a US anti-immigration website; Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website; and Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist podcaster.

There is no evidence that Fuentes participated in the riot.

At a press conference Tuesday, Acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin called the scope of a federal investigation “unprecedented.”

The government is treating the case as a “major counterterrorism or counterintelligence investigation” which includes a review of “records of money travel, disposition, movement and communication,” he said. .

The Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif., Said some far-right groups have become adept at raising and transferring funds through cryptocurrencies.

“The Daily Stormer, for example, displays a prominent Bitcoin wallet address,” the research organization said in a report, “while its founder Andrew Anglin asks for Bitcoin on his Gab profile.”

Anglin’s profile goes straight to bitcoin hunting, while trying to separate himself from the “terrorists”.

“Due to the activities of real terrorists, traditional means of collecting donations are not available,” he says in his profile. “I’m trying to make this as painless as possible … Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrency) is still the best option, always.”

The Daily Stormer is asking for cryptocurrency donations. Its website says the post is “opposed to violence” and “anyone who suggests or promotes violence in the comments section will be immediately banned.”

Bitcoin is an open source software package and only exists virtually. It does not use a commercial bank for distribution and no government controls it.

The value of Bitcoin has fluctuated a lot in the past. The value of one Bitcoin was recently set at $ 39,637.70.

Bitcoin transactions are managed in the blockchain, which creates an unbreakable and unalterable record. While transactions are often anonymous, a knowledgeable and computer-savvy investigator can track the sender and receiver.

A Bitcoin wallet address is permanent. If an individual or group discloses their Bitcoin wallet addresses as part of a fundraising effort, investigators can trace all transactions.

<< L'expertise en matière de messagerie et de recrutement en ligne, associée au fait que les groupes extrémistes modernes sont généralement jeunes et avertis en informatique, signifie que ces organisations et ces individus ont fondamentalement modifié la manière dont les extrémistes collectent des fonds >> The Center on Terrorism, Extremism and the Fight Middlebury Institute of International Studies said in a report.