FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency bitcoin are placed on U.S. Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Payments in bitcoin worth more than $500,000 were made to 22 different virtual wallets, most of them belonging to far-right activists and internet personalities, before the storming of the U.S. Capitol, cryptocurrency compliance startup Chainalysis said on Friday.
The payments, made by a French donor, of 28.15 bitcoins were made on Dec. 8, the New York-based startup, specializing 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 $250,000 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.
