A 16-year-old from east London accused of growing crypto and providing cyber expertise to Al Qaeda has been granted restricted digital bail, allowing him to only use his PlayStation offline.

Prosecutors say the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, tried to raise about $1,300 in crypto for extremist groups including Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, according to a statement on Wednesday. report by The Standard.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the teenager pleaded not guilty to five charges, including raising funds for terrorism, providing training and possessing documents of a nature useful for terror-related purposes.

As part of his bail, the boy must abide by a curfew at night, avoid social media and restrict the use of his laptop to educational purposes only.

However, he retains limited use of the PlayStation console, with conditions prohibiting online multiplayer or any interactive gaming platform.

The case against the teenager is due to be brought to the Old Bailey, Britain’s central criminal court, for a hearing on November 2.

Although the use of crypto by terrorist organizations constitutes a relatively small part of the illicit transactions in the industry, it remains a significant part. concern for regulatory authorities globally.

Criminal activity involving crypto ranges from money laundering and ransomware to fraud, but terrorism-related transactions represent a fraction of that activity, according to the blockchain analytics firm. Chain analysis.

Even so, the transparent nature of blockchain technology allows law enforcement authorities to track and trace illicit activities more effectively than through traditional financial channels, as every transaction is recorded in a public ledger.

This transparency helps authorities monitor the flow of funds and identify suspicious patterns, making it easier to disrupt criminal networks that use digital assets, according to a former CIA director.

Last year, Israel confiscated approximately 40 cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.

It marked the “first incident of this magnitude” perpetrated by Israel at the time.