Groups Received Bitcoin Before Capitol Riot
It seems like cryptocurrency finds its way into the realm of U.S. politics again… and not in a positive light. Prior to the U.S. election we reported about a the co-founder of a large cryptocurrency exchange being a major donor to the Biden campaign.
Now, a recent report revealed that over $500,000 worth of Bitcoin was sent to 22 different wallets owned by internet personalities and far-right activists shortly before the U.S. Capitol attack.
New York based cryptocurrency compliance startup Chainalysis, revealed in a blog post that the entire payments of 28.15 Bitcoins were made by a French donor.
Last week, the U.S. Capitol was besieged by a large group of Donald Trump supporters who were protesting following Trump’s loss in the recent U.S. Presidential election.
The riot led to the destruction of properties and the death of five persons, including two police officers. A lot of the far-right members were present at the riot and several of them participated. Internet celebrity Nick Fuentes was also present outside the Capitol during the riot.
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Many Groups Received Bitcoin
In the blog post, Chainalysis revealed that it has evidence that many of the far-right groups were given the donated amount as part of a single transaction. The firm also asserted that the donor, based in France, is now deceased.
“We have also gathered evidence that strongly suggests the donor was a now-deceased computer programmer based in France,” Chainalysis reported.
It’s not clear to what extent the Capitol riot was planned, but evidence from the Bitcoin donations suggests the attack was orchestrated.
ProPublica reports stated that weeks before the riot, supporters of Trump discussed on the now-banned right-wing social media app Parlor, detailing how they would make the event violent.
The analyst revealed that there is evidence that the donated amount to the group was made on December 8, a month before the march on the Capital.
Chainanalyis said it will not reveal the identity of the donor to the public, but provided details about his donations and how it was able to uncover it.
Fuentes Received Largest Donation
The firm said the donor sent the 28.15 BTC on December 8, which was worth about $522,000 at the time the donation was made.
Nick Fuentes, one of the main founders of the far-right group, got almost half of the donations, which was 13.5 Bitcoins (valued at $250,000 at the time). However, he could not be reached for comments about the development.
Fuentes has been on the wrong side of publicity after YouTube suspended his account for hate speech last year.
Some others also received considerable funds too, including far-right streamer Ethan Ralph, anti-immigration organization VDARE, and some other addresses whose owners are yet to be identified.
Although there is no evidence yet to show that Fuentes entered the Capitol, he was present outside the building when the riot started.
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