Islamic State now experimenting with NFTs for financing, propaganda

ambcrypto.com:

The first case of terror-themed Non-fungible token (NFT) has surfaced, according to a Wall Street Journal report, with the same underlining the discovery of an NFT commending islamist militants for last month’s attack on an Afghan mosque.

The NFT named ‘IS-NEWS #01’ features the emblem of the Islamic State. It was taken down from popular NFT marketplaces like Opensea and Rarible, but is still available on a platform called IPFS.

Former U.S intelligence officials believe that this incident indicates a change in strategy by terror groups. They believe that these groups are attempting to evade sanctions and restrictions on fundraising activities by leveraging emerging technologies like NFTs.

According to Researcher Raphael Gluck, this is more likely the terror group’s way of testing the waters rather than a fundraising attempt, given that it wasn’t listed for sale. “It’s very much an experiment…to find ways to make content indestructible,” he added. 

Former federal intelligence analyst Mario Cosby told WSJ that taking down the NFT would be a challenge due to its “censorship-proof” nature.

Terror groups rely heavily on propaganda to garner support and funds for their operations, but increasing sanctions have limited avenues for such activities. Security experts are now concerned about NFTs emerging as a new way for terror groups like the Islamic State to spread the word and collect donations.

The incident has drawn attention from regulators, which is not good news for the broader crypto-industry given that it is already under heavy scrutiny following the collapse of Terra.

This may be the first incident involving NFTs, but the use of cryptocurrencies by terror outfits has raised concerns in several countries. Earlier this year,