Afghanistan's Crypto Ban After the Taliban Takeover: What Happened and Why It Still Matters

Before 2022, Afghanistan was one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world. People weren’t trading Bitcoin because it was trendy-they were using it to survive. Then the Taliban banned it all. No trading. No mining. No holding. Just plain illegal. And yet, even today, crypto hasn’t disappeared. It’s just gone underground.

Why Did Afghanistan Suddenly Ban Crypto?

In August 2022, the Taliban government issued a formal order banning all cryptocurrency activities. Their reasoning? It’s haram-forbidden under Islamic law. According to Taliban officials, digital currencies like Bitcoin and USDT have no real value because they’re not backed by gold, silver, or any physical asset. They called it gambling, speculation, and a threat to financial stability.

But the real story is deeper than religion. Just a year earlier, Afghanistan’s economy had collapsed. After the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power, Western countries froze over $9 billion in Afghan central bank reserves. Banks shut down. Salaries stopped. Foreign aid dried up. People couldn’t buy food, pay for medicine, or send money to family abroad.

That’s when crypto stepped in. With no access to traditional banking, Afghans turned to peer-to-peer crypto exchanges. Bitcoin and Tether (USDT) became lifelines. People used them to receive remittances from relatives overseas, pay for goods online, and even buy essentials at local markets that accepted digital payments. By late 2021, Afghanistan ranked 20th globally in crypto adoption-out of 154 countries. That’s not a small number for a country with only 8.6 million internet users out of 40 million people.

The Taliban didn’t just see crypto as risky. They saw it as uncontrollable. And in a regime that demands total authority over every aspect of life, that’s unacceptable.

The Ban: What’s Actually Illegal?

The Taliban’s ban isn’t vague. It’s total. All cryptocurrency activities are banned:

• Buying or selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, or any other digital asset
• Mining crypto using electricity or hardware
• Operating or using crypto exchanges, even online ones
• Accepting crypto as payment for goods or services

There are no exceptions. No grandfathering. No licenses. No gray areas. The law is simple: if you’re caught, you could be arrested. There have been documented cases of traders being detained, interrogated, and fined. In some instances, equipment like laptops and phones used for crypto trading were seized.

The government also shut down all local crypto exchanges. Before the ban, platforms like LocalBitcoins and Paxful had active Afghan users. Now, those platforms are blocked. Even accessing them through a VPN can be risky.

How Has the Ban Affected People on the Ground?

The ban didn’t stop crypto use-it just made it dangerous.

In 2022, monthly crypto transactions in Afghanistan dropped from millions of dollars to just $80,000. That sounds like a success for the Taliban. But here’s the catch: that $80,000 wasn’t from legal users. It was from people risking arrest to send money home or buy food.

The underground market is alive. People now trade crypto through encrypted messaging apps like Telegram and Signal. They meet in person in markets or private homes. They use cash to buy USDT from someone who got it from a relative in Dubai or Turkey. The transaction is handwritten on a slip of paper, verified by a photo of a wallet address, and completed with a handshake.

This isn’t just about convenience. It’s survival. With inflation soaring and the Afghan currency (AFN) losing value daily, USDT-pegged to the U.S. dollar-has become the closest thing to stable money left in the country. For many, it’s the only way to preserve savings.

Women and Crypto: A Hidden Lifeline

The ban hit women hardest-and also gave them an unexpected tool for resistance.

Under Taliban rule, women are barred from most jobs, universities, and public spaces. They can’t open bank accounts without a male guardian. They can’t travel alone. Their access to money is controlled by men.

But crypto doesn’t need a passport. It doesn’t care if you’re a woman. All you need is a phone and a wallet address.

Organizations like the Digital Citizen Fund, led by Afghan tech pioneer Roya Mahboob, have quietly trained women to use Bitcoin and USDT. They teach them how to receive money from abroad, how to store it safely, and how to trade it without drawing attention. For many women, owning crypto isn’t about profit-it’s about autonomy. As Mahboob said, “Crypto gives them a hope of financial freedom.”

In a country where 97% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN, crypto is one of the few tools that lets women bypass the system that wants to keep them powerless.

Why Can’t the Taliban Shut It Down Completely?

The Taliban can arrest traders. They can block websites. They can cut internet speeds. But they can’t control a decentralized network.

Crypto doesn’t run on servers in Kabul. It runs on phones, on laptops, on devices scattered across villages and cities. Transactions happen peer-to-peer-directly between two people. No middleman. No central server. No government can track every single transaction.

Plus, enforcement is weak. The Taliban doesn’t have the resources to monitor every citizen. They can’t police every WhatsApp group or Telegram channel. And even if they wanted to, most Afghans rely on crypto too much to let it die.

The ban is a political statement. But the people have already made their choice.

Where Does Afghanistan Stand Globally?

As of 2025, Afghanistan is one of only nine countries in the world that still outright bans Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Most of the others-like China, Egypt, and Iraq-also have strict controls. But even some of those are starting to soften.

Morocco lifted its crypto ban in 2024. Nigeria, once hostile, now regulates exchanges. Even Russia, despite sanctions, allows crypto for cross-border trade.

Afghanistan is now an outlier. While the rest of the world is figuring out how to tax, regulate, and integrate digital assets, Afghanistan is trying to erase them.

Experts agree: the long-term sustainability of the ban is doubtful. As long as the economy stays broken and the banking system stays frozen, people will find a way to use crypto. The Taliban’s ban might last for years. But it won’t last forever.

What’s Next for Crypto in Afghanistan?

Right now, crypto in Afghanistan exists in a gray zone: illegal on paper, essential in practice.

There’s no sign the Taliban will reverse the ban. Their ideology is rigid. They see crypto as a Western threat to their control. But the economic pressure is mounting. Aid groups warn of mass starvation. Families are selling possessions to buy food. Women are risking arrest to send money to their mothers.

The next phase won’t be about legalization. It’ll be about adaptation. More encrypted tools. More offline trading. More use of mesh networks and satellite internet to bypass government controls.

And if the world ever lifts sanctions and rebuilds Afghanistan’s financial system, crypto won’t disappear. It’ll be waiting-stronger, smarter, and more deeply embedded in daily life than ever before.

For now, Afghanistan’s crypto story isn’t about regulation. It’s about resilience. People didn’t choose crypto because it’s cool. They chose it because they had no other option. And that’s not something a decree can erase.