Underground Crypto Trading Under Taliban Rule: How Afghans Survive Without Banks

When the Taliban banned cryptocurrency in August 2022, they thought they’d shut down a digital rebellion. They were wrong. Two years later, Bitcoin and USDT still move through Afghanistan’s dark alleys, backrooms, and mobile networks-hidden in plain sight, carried by people who have no other choice.

Why Crypto Became a Lifeline

Before the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Afghanistan’s banking system was fragile but functional. International aid flowed in, remittances from the diaspora kept families fed, and mobile money apps like HesabPay were gaining traction. Then the world froze Afghanistan’s $9 billion in foreign reserves. Banks stopped operating. ATMs ran dry. Salaries vanished. By early 2022, the World Bank estimated that 97% of Afghans would fall below the poverty line.

That’s when crypto stepped in-not as a speculative investment, but as survival. Families abroad sent money via Bitcoin or Tether (USDT). Recipients in Kabul, Kandahar, or Mazar-i-Sharif exchanged it for cash through trusted dealers. No bank account needed. No paperwork. No permission.

By late 2021, crypto transfers into Afghanistan had jumped 80%. HesabPay, a local app built for mobile-to-mobile transfers, hit 380,000 users in its first three months. People weren’t trading for profit. They were trading to eat.

The Ban That Didn’t Stick

In August 2022, the Taliban declared cryptocurrency haram-forbidden under Islamic law. Their reasoning? Crypto had no intrinsic value. It was gambling. It was chaos. They shut down exchanges, revoked licenses, and arrested traders. By November 2022, recorded crypto transaction volumes had dropped to just $80,000 per month.

But numbers don’t tell the whole story.

The Taliban could close offices. They couldn’t shut down peer-to-peer networks. A trader in Herat could still meet a cousin in Peshawar, hand over a phone with a crypto wallet open, and receive cash in return. A mother in Kabul could receive USDT from her daughter in Toronto, then walk to a local shopkeeper who traded crypto for Afghanis. These weren’t transactions on apps-they were handshakes.

And the Taliban had no way to track them all. Only 8.64 million of Afghanistan’s 40 million people had internet access. Most crypto trades happened offline, using SMS, voice calls, or in-person meetups. The government’s tools were built for centralized systems. Crypto was built to be decentralized.

How It Works Now

Today, the underground crypto economy runs on three things: Bitcoin, USDT, and trust.

Bitcoin is used for larger transfers from overseas. USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, is the local currency of choice. It’s easier to split, easier to verify, and easier to convert into cash.

Traders operate through informal networks. A man in Jalalabad might receive a crypto payment from his brother in Germany. He calls his contact in Kabul-a former bank clerk turned crypto broker. They meet in a crowded market, under the noise of vendors. He hands over a phone showing the wallet balance. The broker counts out Afghanis. No receipt. No ID. No record.

Forex dealers, once seen as relics of the old system, are now the backbone of this new economy. They buy crypto from locals and sell it to traders who need cash. Some even offer digital literacy lessons-how to set up a wallet, how to check transaction confirmations, how to avoid scams-all taught in secret.

Internet Blackouts and the New Frontline

In September 2024, the Taliban ordered nationwide internet blackouts across five northern provinces: Kunduz, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Takhar, and Balkh. The official reason? To stop "immoral content." The real effect? Crippling the underground crypto economy.

Without internet, traders can’t verify transactions. They can’t check blockchain confirmations. They can’t communicate with buyers across the border in Pakistan. Traders in Peshawar say they’ve lost 60% of their Afghan customers because they can’t send product photos before payment. No photos? No sale. No sale? No crypto.

The blackouts haven’t stopped trading-they’ve made it slower, riskier, and more expensive. People now rely on physical flash drives, USB sticks, and even handwritten codes passed between couriers. Some use mesh networks built from old smartphones, creating tiny local crypto rings that operate without the internet.

The Taliban’s crackdown on digital life doesn’t stop at crypto. They’ve purged books by women from universities. They’ve banned 18 courses on democracy and human rights. They’ve ordered women to stay home. And now they’re trying to erase the one tool that lets ordinary Afghans bypass their control.

It’s Not Just Money-It’s Autonomy

This isn’t just about remittances or inflation. It’s about dignity.

When the Taliban took over, they didn’t just take control of the government. They tried to take control of every aspect of life-how women dress, what books are taught, who you can talk to. Crypto is one of the few things left that can’t be controlled.

You can’t ban a wallet. You can’t arrest a blockchain. You can’t jail a public key.

For a mother sending her child’s school fees via USDT, for a farmer selling wheat to a buyer in Iran, for a nurse in Kandahar receiving wages from a relative in Australia-crypto isn’t a luxury. It’s the last open door.

The Taliban may have the guns. But they don’t have the code.

What’s Next?

The future of crypto in Afghanistan is uncertain. The Taliban are learning. They’re developing better surveillance tools. They’re partnering with telecom companies to monitor data traffic. They’re testing AI systems to detect suspicious patterns.

But the need is growing faster than their control.

International sanctions aren’t lifting. The banking system isn’t recovering. The economy is still collapsing. And as long as families abroad send money, and families at home need food, crypto will find a way.

Some experts believe offline crypto networks-using Bluetooth, NFC, or SMS-based transfers-will become the norm. Others think Afghanistan could become the world’s first large-scale test of blockchain without the internet.

One thing is clear: the Taliban didn’t kill crypto. They made it more necessary than ever.