Website’s crypto payments circumvent sanctions on emergency aid to Afghans

WHEN the Taliban seized power in August last year, the online marketplace Aseel quickly pivoted from selling handmade crafts to accepting donations of cryptocurrency to buy emergency aid for Afghans.

The e-commerce platform is one of a growing number of charities using crypto to support those who cannot access traditional banking systems and who continue to rely on the digital coins, even though their value has slumped. “We cannot give cash payments because of the sanctions,” said Aseel’s technical lead Mohammad Nasir, referring to international sanctions targeting the Taliban.

Aseel takes donations in crypto, as well as official currencies, which it converts into digital coins to buy supplies such as food and first aid.

It is also raising funds for victims of this week’s earthquake in Afghanistan that killed about 1 000 people.

“We use stablecoins that limit the impact (of market volatility) on our operations,” added Nasir, referring to crypto tokens pegged to the value of mainstream assets such as the US dollar, and are considered safer havens than other cryptocurrencies.

The fall in crypto markets has mirrored a slide in equities prices. But crypto retains its appeal in places where sanctions and other disruptions hamper traditional financial systems.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies allow for “peer-to-peer” transfers between users online without intermediaries. Their relative anonymity offers a haven for criminals, extremist groups and sanctioned governments, but champions say they also support citizens caught up in crises.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska relied on bitcoin to buy supplies for people trapped in warzones. Ukraine has raised about $100 million (R1.6 billion) in crypto since the start of the conflict in February, although the government’s fund has been depleted by the crash.

Crypto is also thriving in Gaza, where Palestinians are locked out of popular international payment apps, and often have to pay high fees to local banks and middlemen to send and receive payments from abroad.

But in El Salvador, which made bitcoin legal tender last year, adoption was marred by glitches, and the crash has roughly halved the value of government bitcoin holdings.