Afghanistan Central Bank Enforces Crypto Trading Ban Despite User Workarounds

Afghanistan's central bank continues to prohibit unauthorized online cryptocurrency trading, classifying it as illegal and subject to enforcement. The ban was put in place in August 2022, after authorities ordered money changers, individuals, and businesses to stop trading cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. This nationwide crackdown resulted in the arrest of 13 people in Herat, with most later released on bail, and the closure of over 20 crypto-related businesses.

The city of Herat had become Afghanistan's main cryptocurrency trading hub, hosting four of the country's six known crypto brokerages at the time. The ban followed months of debate over whether digital assets could operate within Islamic finance, with the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ultimately declaring it haram.

The prohibition primarily cuts users off from legal domestic trading businesses and fiat on-ramps rather than disabling the Bitcoin network itself. A user holding private keys can technically send a Bitcoin transaction wherever internet access and network connectivity are available, but doing so inside Afghanistan can expose the user to local legal and enforcement risks.