By Jessica Russak-Hoffman, JNS
A U.S. district judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not sufficiently establish a connection between Binance’s conduct and the Hamas-led terrorist attacks under federal anti-terrorism law.
A federal judge dismissed claims against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its U.S. affiliates brought by victims of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to show the companies knowingly and substantially assisted the assault.
On May 29, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., granted motions to dismiss filed by Binance Holdings Limited, which manages Binance.com, and BAM Trading Services and BAM Management, which operate Binance.US.
The lawsuit was filed by former Hamas hostages and relatives of victims, including Israeli-American Liat Atzili and members of the family of Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage during the attack and released in February 2025. The plaintiffs alleged that Binance failed to maintain adequate anti-money-laundering, sanctions compliance and customer-verification controls, allowing Hamas and other terrorist groups to move funds through the platform and helping finance the Oct. 7 attack.
In a 26-page opinion, Nichols wrote that "although plaintiffs suffered horribly from the Oct. 7 attacks, and although the amended complaint raises serious concerns about how users associated with terrorists might exploit the lack of controls on the Binance platforms," the allegations did not establish the degree of connection between Binance's conduct and Oct. 7, as required under federal anti-terrorism law.
Nichols dismissed the federal anti-terrorism claims with prejudice, barring the claims from being refiled in district court, and dismissed related state-law claims without prejudice.
Separate litigation arising from the Oct. 7 attacks has been filed against other defendants, including Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
