Taliban jailed 8 traders for holding and using crypto

Afghanistan’s government, under the Taliban’s control, arrested eight cryptocurrency traders in Herat, a city on the Northwest side of the country.

One of the crypto traders who prefers to stay anonymous told crypto.news that the Taliban arrested him and seven others for using crypto in May. They were imprisoned for 28 days in Herat’s central prison, he added.

It’s important to note that the Central Bank of Afghanistan banned using cryptocurrencies in August 2022 — closing more than 30 crypto-related businesses in the region. The government called digital currencies and Forex trading “haram,” an Arabic term used for forbidden things in Islam.

Another crypto dealer says that he earned a small commission of between 1% and 2% for selling USDT to traders and could barely feed his family. He says: 

“Now I don’t know what to do. The prices of goods are very high, and the economy is on the brink of a collapse while there’s nothing else to do.”

He added that selling USDT might put his life in danger, but “there’s no other way.” 

Both traders claim the Taliban didn’t seize any of their crypto assets. However, people familiar with the matter told crypto.news that a group of cryptocurrency dealers were recently arrested, with the government taking all their digital holdings. 

People familiar with the matter said that the government might put some of the crypto traders to six months in jail. 

Another individual claimed that before the Taliban banned crypto in the country, he used to receive his family’s expenses from his brother who lives in the U.S. via Bitcoin (BTC) and USDT. Now that cryptocurrencies are “forbidden,” it sometimes takes weeks for him to receive and withdraw the money. He added: 

“It’s all because this country, with thousands of years of history, doesn’t have access to standard banks and bans its only way out.”