Despite the Taliban’s prohibition of cryptocurrency in Afghanistan, they were discovered to be covertly trading Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, and they even generated some profits.
Cryptocurrency was officially prohibited by the Taliban, which is recognized for its strict governance and harmful interpretation of Islamic law. The Taliban referred to it as “haram.” However, it appears that they have also been discreetly exploring them.
These individuals are purportedly trading memecoins, specifically Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE), in one of the more peculiar developments of Afghanistan’s post-2021 collapse. This serves as evidence that duplicity and scamming are unbounded.
Afghanistan’s economy has been in a state of disarray since the Taliban assumed power in August 2021. The financial system is a mere remnant of its former self, as the U.S. has suspended $7 billion in central bank reserves and international sanctions have isolated the country.
Liquidity is nearly nonexistent, and banks are scarcely operational. In 2024, the Taliban strictly prohibited the use of cryptocurrency, which Afghans had adopted as an alternative.
In the documentary, a Taliban member acknowledged that he had profited from SHIB, but he expressed his disappointment that he had lost all of his money by “buying high and selling low.” Another individual boasted about his ability to swap Dogecoins.
“Talibros,” the Taliban’s social media handle, expresses this contradiction. Despite the group’s efforts to combat the use of cryptocurrency by the general public, its members are purportedly involved in concealed cryptocurrency trading. This dichotomy has elicited global attention, revealing the discrepancy between their words and their actions.
Afghanistan’s 20th position on Chainalysis’s Crypto Adoption Index in 2021 was primarily due to the fact that crypto offered citizens a means of surviving in the face of economic collapse.
However, the country’s ranking has fallen as of the time of this writing. The Taliban’s prohibition of cryptocurrency activity in the region resulted in the closure of exchanges and the detention of merchants.
The initial reason for the toleration of cryptos was that they enabled Afghans to circumvent banking restrictions and sanctions. Families utilized crypto wallets to receive remittances, while local applications such as HesabPay were successful.
Once the Taliban determined that cryptocurrency was seemingly inconsistent with Islamic finance principles, this ceased. However, there is no evidence to support this assertion, and the claim itself is illogical.
In mid-2024, the Taliban arrested operators and confiscated funds, resulting in the closure of at least 16 exchanges in the Herat province. The government considered traders to be criminals and prohibited crypto trading.
Officials asserted that cryptocurrencies promoted wagering and frauds, which they claimed harmed ordinary Afghans. The central bank referred to cryptocurrency as “haram,” but critics contend that the Taliban’s true objective was to maintain control. Decentralized currencies pose a threat to the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan’s fragile economy.
In terms of the citizens, the consequences have been severe. There is every indication that the economic situation will worsen in the upcoming year. Surprisingly, the Taliban has also been developing a close relationship with Vlad Putin, the President of Russia.
They requested an invitation to the October BRICS annual summit, which he hosted in Kazan, as we previously reported. He did not, but there are now reports that he has collaborated with them to “fight against terrorism.” Ironically, Putin has also excluded them from his nation’s inventory of militants.
According to certain economists, the Taliban may attempt to persuade Afghanistan to become a member of the BRICS, even if it is only as a partner country. It is uncertain how India, and more specifically, China, will respond to this. However, Russia appears to be in decline.
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