Taliban Shuts Down Over 16 Crypto Exchanges In Afghanistan 

According to reports, Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has ordered the arrest of several crypto dealers in the country. This comes after the country banned the usage of cryptocurrencies in the country at the start of August. 

Crypto Exchangers Arrested In Afghanistan 

Sayed Shah Sa’adat, Herat police leader for counter-crime, told Ariana News the country’s central bank, in a letter, talked about the effects of crypto in the country. In the letter, the central bank said many had lost their funds to crypto scams.

As a result, the country has stopped the usage of cryptocurrencies. Sa’adat said they acted on the central bank’s directive, arrested crypto exchangers, and shut down their stores.

According to the report, the nation’s security forces closed over sixteen crypto exchanges in the Herat province this week. Mawla Alizada, a citizen residing in the province, told news outlets that the government must stop all crypto activities. 

Alizada argued that assets and wealth are leaving the country because of crypto activities. Also, he mentioned that several users had lost money to scams and crypto volatility.

Meanwhile, Herat police leader of counter-crime told Bloomberg that the police have shut down over 20 crypto firms in the city. Herat is the third largest city in Afghanistan and a hub for digital assets trading.

In addition, the leader said the security agency detained over 13 people. However, most of them were released after they bailed themselves. 

Afghans Can No Longer Use Crypto To Evade US Sanctions 

“The country’s central bank orders us to arreat all money changers. Also, we were told to stop businesses and individuals from using and trading fraudulent virtual currencies like Bitcoin,” Sa’adat noted.

The recent order in Afghanistan is similar to the crypto ban in China. Last year, the Chinese government banned the usage of cryptocurrencies, forcing crypto miners out of the country.

However, the ban on crypto in Afghanistan puts the citizens at a disadvantage, given the various US sanctions on the country. Also, the country’s economy has been in a meltdown, forcing its currency’s value to drop.

Citizens in the country can no longer use crypto to bypass sanctions or protect their wealth from inflation. According to a report by Chainalysis, Afghanistan is among the top 20 countries that have adopted cryptocurrency. 

Ghulam Mohammad Suhrabi, the leader of Herat Money Exchangers’ Union, advised the citizens against using cryptocurrencies in the nation. He noted that digital currencies have high volatility and are not new.

Also, he noted that people are not familiar with crypto and hence should not use it. He alleged that people purchase crypto accounts from outside the country.