Binance seizes Palestinian funds, draws ire: ‘Not your keys, not your coins’

• Binance seized Palestinian funds following requests from Israeli authorities, sparking outrage from the crypto community.
• Binance’s CEO dismissed the controversy as misinformation, but skepticism persisted.

Amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine, major cryptocurrency exchange Binance [BNB] reportedly seized funds belonging to Palestinians at the request of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Binance’s bold move

This move was highlighted by Ray Youssef, co-founder of Paxful and CEO of the Noones P2P platform, who shared that Binance’s actions were a direct response to requests from Israeli authorities. 

“Binance has seized all funds from all Palestinians as per the request of the IDF. They refuse to return the funds. All appeals denied.”

Source: Wallstreetbets/X 

The letter explains that Israel’s Minister of Defense, under the Anti-Terrorism Law, ordered the seizure of cryptocurrency wallets linked to a declared “terrorist organization” based on “reliable intelligence.”

The recipient whose wallets have been seized claims against the seizure were reviewed and rejected, as the evidence supported that the funds were involved in “serious terrorist offense.”

The Minister may proceed with confiscating the assets, though the decision can be appealed in the administrative court.

He further stressed that the measure impacted all Palestinians and warned that similar actions could target countries like Lebanon and Syria next. 

“All Palestinians are affected and judging by the way things are going all Lebanese and Syrians will get the same treatment. Not your keys, not your coins.”

How did the crypto community respond to this?

This has sent shockwaves through the crypto community as highlighted by an X user Pukka, who said, 

“This isn’t the cryptocurrency world we dreamt of.” 

Sharing a similar line of thought was Web 3 strategist Slorg, who added, 

Source: Slorg/X

Binance CEO in defense

Amidst the controversy within the crypto community, Binance’s new CEO Richard Teng addressed the issue on X, dismissing it as misinformation and stated,

“FUD. Only a limited number of user accounts, linked to illicit funds, were blocked from transacting. There have been some incorrect statements about this.”  

He even explained that Binance, follows internationally recognized laws designed to prevent money laundering, similar to other financial institutions.

He added that the company emphasizes its commitment to helping users understand how to use its platform safely and securely.

Speculation still persists

Despite these assurances, many in the community remain skeptical, viewing them as mere attempts to pacify concerns.

As expected, X user Joel A captured this sentiment aptly, stating,

“Hmmmmm. If they doing that to them what’s stopping them from doing that to us?”