Taliban Financial Policy: Crypto, Sanctions, and Cash Controls in Afghanistan

When the Taliban financial policy, the set of economic rules and controls enforced by the Taliban government in Afghanistan since 2021. Also known as Islamic Emirate monetary policy, it has become one of the most unusual experiments in modern finance—running a country with almost no access to the global banking system, under heavy international sanctions, and with cash shortages so bad people are bartering goods.

Since the U.S. froze over $7 billion in Afghan central bank reserves in 2021, the Taliban has been forced to rely on gold, foreign cash smuggled across borders, and informal hawala networks to keep the economy moving. There’s no formal banking access, no IMF aid, and no international payments. That’s where cryptocurrency in Afghanistan, the growing use of Bitcoin and other digital assets by Afghan citizens and businesses to bypass financial isolation comes in. While the Taliban officially bans crypto trading, reports from Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat show people are still using it—often through peer-to-peer apps like LocalBitcoins and Paxful—to send money to family abroad, buy essentials, or pay freelancers. It’s not a government-backed system—it’s a survival tool.

At the same time, the Taliban sanctions, a global financial blockade led by the U.S., EU, and UN that blocks the group from accessing foreign reserves and international financial institutions have turned Afghanistan into a cash-only economy. Banks limit withdrawals. ATMs run dry. The Afghan afghani has lost over 40% of its value since 2021. In this vacuum, traders are turning to gold bars, U.S. dollars hidden in suitcases, and even crypto wallets on old smartphones. The Afghan crypto economy, the unofficial, grassroots network of digital asset users operating outside state control isn’t growing because it’s trendy—it’s growing because there’s no other choice.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t a political analysis or a propaganda piece. It’s a look at real-world financial behavior under extreme conditions. You’ll see how a group banned from the global financial system is managing money without banks, how citizens are using crypto as a lifeline, and why the Taliban’s cash-only approach is creating new risks—and new opportunities—for those on the ground. This isn’t theory. It’s what’s happening right now, in real time, in one of the most isolated economies on Earth.