Large Bitcoins Transfers Were Sent To Right-Wing Organizations And Individuals A Month Before U.S. Capitol Raid

A foreign account has been linked to large bitcoins payments sent to right-wing individuals and groups a month before the domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

On Dec. 8, someone transferred 28.15 bitcoins simultaneously to 22 different virtual wallets. The 28.15 bitcoins, which were worth more than $500,000 at the time, were distributed to predominately right-wing organizations and figures, Yahoo! News reports.

U.S. law enforcement believes they’ve found the person who sent the transfer, adding that they believe the money was sent to specific people and groups to fund or encourage the riots that took place on Jan. 6. Officials haven’t confirmed the motivation behind the transfers; however, they speculate the funds were meant for the riots, as they were sent a month before the raid. 

The investigation comes after law enforcement decided to look into the funding sources for the individuals who participated in the domestic attack, Yahoo! News reports. Some of the people who received transfers were right-wing figures and websites, including VDARE, the Daily Stormer, Nick Fuentes, and research software company Chainalysis. The transfers to the organization and individuals came from a French cryptocurrency.

With the informant that they find, U.S. officials hope to reduce the likelihood of a raid happening again. During a Tuesday press conference, acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said the “scope and scale of this investigation in these cases are really unprecedented.” Sherwin added that prosecutors are treating the matter as a “significant counterterrorism or counterintelligence investigation” involving deeper probes into “money, travel records, disposition, movement, communication records.”