Crypto provides fix for some in crisis-hit Afghanistan

Digital currencies, impervious to international sanctions, allow handful of young Afghans to avoid the worst of crisis.

In the middle of a bazaar in western Afghanistan, Arezo Akrimi takes out her smartphone and, after a few taps of the screen, changes some cryptocurrency for a bundle of hard cash.

Akrimi, 19, is one of the 100 students in Herat receiving approximately $200 a month in cryptocurrency since September thanks to the American NGO Code To Inspire.

This sum, which she converts at a bureau de change into Afghanis, is crucial for the rent and to help feed her family of six.

Since the Taliban returned to power in August, Afghanistan’s economy has virtually collapsed and the country is in the grip of a crisis caused by the seizure of billions of dollars of assets by the United States, which withdrew its troops after 20 years of military occupation.

The decision by international financial institutions to suspend funding to Afghanistan has further made economic revival nearly impossible, and the diplomatic isolation of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban’s government names the country, has not helped the cause.

But digital currencies and their decentralized architecture, impervious to international sanctions, are allowing a handful of young Afghans to avoid the worst of the crisis.

“It was very surprising for me to learn that this could be used in Afghanistan,” Akrimi said. “It was really helpful.”

Code To Inspire was founded to teach computer programming to women in Herat, but its hi-tech approach is now also helping students get funds in the economically deprived nation.

Bank transfers to Afghanistan are almost impossible currently due to Western sanctions.

But even those with money in a bank struggle to get it out – individuals are limited to withdrawing the equivalent of $200 a week, and businesses $2,000.

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