Bitcoin, Crypto represent hope and despair amid the carnage in Afghanistan

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Source: AdobeStock / Bojanikus

As the bloodbath in Afghanistan continues almost unabated after the fall of Kabul, crypto advocates inside and outside the country are starting to wonder if tokens like bitcoin (BTC) could make them. help fight the violent and oppressive Taliban regime.

The world has watched in horror over the past few weeks as events unfold with brutal speed. But among the stories of human tragedy and doom, there are glimmers of hope that decentralized digital tokens could become a tool for those fighting the Taliban.

CNBC reported the story of Farhan Hotak, a 22-year-old Afghan crypto trader with a crypto wallet hosted on the Binance Exchange.

Although the outlet has reported that the Hotaks crypto wallet will not help him put dinner on his table tonight, it nonetheless gives him peace of mind that some of his wealth is being protected from economic instability.

Additionally, the report’s authors noted, crypto also offers greater promise for the future, in the form of access to the global economy from inside Afghanistan and some protections against the surge. soaring inflation.

Data from Google Trends shows searches for terms such as cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and Binance have increased at various times over the summer. This is both true for English searches in the country, but also for languages ​​like Persian: here, bitcoin and related terms also saw similar spikes.

Bank Run

The same outlet reported that the local currency rushes have resulted in bank closures, in addition to the closure of branches of money transfer company Western Union. There has also been a collapse of the centuries-old Hawala system of cross-border remittances based on personal contact. It is in situations like these that crypto, when accessible, has flourished.

In Cuba, an entire industry has grown thanks to bitcoin-fueled remittances, often facilitated by independent brokers shuttling money across the country on bikes in exchange for BTC and commission fees.

Some crypto enthusiasts are peering elsewhere in the Americas, fearing fiat inflation could eat away at their savings.

If a government is not formed quickly, we could see a Venezuelan-type situation here, warned another Afghan crypto trader.

Either way, the parallels with Cuba and Venezuela may end there. The latter has fully embraced crypto as a means of evading international sanctions, a fact that has left his boss sitting on a huge stash of BTC and altcoins. The nation has even released its own oil-backed token, Petro.

And in a possible Castro-meets-crypto scenario, Cuban leaders have hinted that they too could turn to crypto to solve their financial woes. It would be hard to imagine the Taliban following suit, given that many Islamic leaders claim that in many cases traditional tokens are not halal.

But in a world where communist nations are seemingly ready to turn to crypto, stranger things have happened.

For most Afghans, however, crypto activity is something most people want to keep well under the radar.

Hotak explained that the crypto community in Afghanistan is very small, adding that everyone just wants to stay in hiding until things go right.

But data from the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index compiled by Chainalysis shows Afghanistan has gone from nowhere to number 20 out of 154 countries. In 2020, adoption rates were so low the nation wasn’t even on the list. Analysts report that much of this adoption is among peer-to-peer traders.

Ironically, some have pointed out that the United States could end up choking this underground crypto with stifling measures aimed at controlling the flow of capital to the Taliban.

A recent Reason article by Andrea OSullivan, director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the James Madison Institute, pointed out that the Taliban ascendancy could provide another rationale for more cryptocurrency controls, a move that could harm innocent Afghans.

OSullivan wrote:

It will only take a story from a potentially Taliban-aligned actor using bitcoin for anti-cryptocurrency actors to leap forward. But using digital money to protect privacy and security must be seen as a basic human right, and we must stand up for it with equal fervor.

However, talks of an increase in terrorism and drug trafficking have raised alarm bells beyond Washington. Reuters (via Yahoo Finance) reported that Russian and Chinese leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping spoke of the need to step up efforts to tackle narcotics and terrorism threats.

As many world leaders have been keen to point fingers at BTC and other tokens, a concerted international crackdown on crypto is not inconceivable.

After all, a BBC report this week noted that opium poppy cultivation in areas controlled by the Taliban has increased since the group came to power.

In addition, 80% of the world’s opium supply comes from Afghanistan, although Taliban leaders have claimed they will reduce opium cultivation to zero despite the fact that this harvest currently accounts for 11% of economic output. from the country.

Broken dreams

For would-be crypto entrepreneurs, however, the Taliban regime has proven too frightening to be accepted, leading many aspiring bitcoin businessmen to flee the country, leaving their dreams in tatters.

Reuters reported on a computer science graduate in his twenties named Muhammad Ali: an aspiring crypto and finance YouTuber with mining dreams.

Ali explained:

I was planning a bitcoin or ethereum (ETH) mining business. Suddenly everything changed and the Taliban took control of all of Afghanistan.

A day after speaking to the news agency, Ali, who was hiding in a drainage tunnel outside Tatvan district in Turkey’s Bitlis province, along with 50 other Afghans, texted Reuters to state that he had been arrested by police chasing illegal migrants.

However, small voices of positivity continue to be heard.

Roya Mahboob, CEO and founder of Herat-based Afghan application developer Citadel Software Company, claimed in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine that BTC could have helped many other Afghans over the past few weeks if they had fled and needed help. ‘take their savings with them, or stayed and needed an alternative to [fiat] Afghan.

Mahboob, the report adds, remains committed to informing as many as possible in the years to come, with the CEO steadfastly asserting that when it comes to financial matters in times of crisis:

Bitcoin corrects this.

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Read more: – Afghans turn to crypto for stability during Taliban takeover – How the Fiat International Fund is hurting cash-strapped countries (FYI, El Salvador)

– Global crypto adoption up 2,300% in two years – Chain analysis – Brazilian bank boss says Venezuelans use Bitcoin and Alts as vehicles

– Bitcoin Pay Gains Ground in Venezuela as Crypto Gains pace in Argentina – Bitcoin is not just a gateway to the dollar in Argentina

– Cubans turn to Bitcoin remittances with 25% commission to defeat blockade – Cuba plans to accept Venezuelan Petro as part of bilateral deals

– The adoption wave continues: Cuba is preparing to recognize cryptocurrencies – The Salvadoran government: distributed Bitcoin but did not convert it into Fiat

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