Binance denied reports suggesting that the cryptocurrency exchange confiscated funds from all Palestinians, stating that only a small number of accounts were restricted.

The world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, confiscated cryptocurrencies from Palestinians at Israel's request, according to sources at a prominent industry executive.

Ray Youssef, co-founder of peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency platform Paxful and CEO of Noones P2P platform, addressed X on August 26 to report that Binance confiscated funds from Palestinians at the request of the Defense Forces of Israel (IDF).

«Binance has confiscated all funds from all Palestinians at the request of the IDF. They refuse to return the funds. All appeals denied», Youssef wrote, citing several sources, including a letter from Israeli authorities passed by Binance.

A Binance spokesperson also noted that Binance complies with internationally accepted sanctions legislation, just like any other financial institution«.

«Most importantly, we hope for lasting peace throughout the region», the representative added.

Binance did not provide additional details on the number of users affected and when the restrictions were applied.

According to data shared with Cointelegraph by website analytics source SimilarWeb, Palestine is a minor market for Binance, with Palestine's traffic share amounting to approximately 0.05% of Binance visits over the past year.

Among jurisdictions with a similar traffic share, SimilarWeb reports countries such as El Salvador with a traffic share of 0.06%, Albania with a traffic share of 0.06%, Malta with a traffic share of 0.03% and others.

Palestine traffic on Binance has increased more than 80% since August 2023.