Bitcoin payments made to far-right individuals before US Capitol attack
Payments in bitcoin worth more than $US500,000 ($642,300) were made to 22 different virtual wallets, most of them belonging to far-right activists and internet personalities, before the storming of the US Capitol, cryptocurrency compliance startup Chainalysis said on Friday.
The payments, made by a French donor, of 28.15 bitcoins were made on December 8, the New York-based startup, specialising in countering money laundering and fraud in the digital currency space, said in a blog post.
Chainalysis said it now has evidence that many alt-right groups and personalities received large bitcoin donations as part of the single transaction.
“We have also gathered evidence that strongly suggests the donor was a now-deceased computer programmer based in France,” Chainalysis said in the report.
Nick Fuentes, who was permanently suspended from YouTube last year for hate speech, received 13.5 bitcoins, worth about $US250,000 at the time of the transfer, making him by far the biggest beneficiary of the donation, according to the blog post.
Fuentes could not be reached for a request for comment.
Supporters of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly made baseless claims challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November election, stormed the US Capitol last week, trying to halt the certification by Congress of Biden’s Electoral College win.
On Wednesday, Trump became the first president in US history to be impeached twice.
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