In some countries there is still a strong ban on the use and even the possession of cryptocurrencies. Many of those countries seem to be in Africa and Asia, like Nepal. This country goes one step further by even the websites and apps from exchanges.
Nepal bans crypto exchanges
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country’s central bank, made in September of 2021 trading and mining cryptocurrencies illegally. Also encouraging others to use crypto is illegal. At the beginning of 2022, it was one of nine countries where the asset class is completely banned.
On January 8, the Nepal Telecommunication Authority stated in a statement that all internet service providers (aka “ISPs”) and email providers must censor access to websites and apps of crypto service providers such as crypto exchanges. Violation of this measure will result in prosecution for violating financial regulations. It is not entirely clear how high the Nepalese government imposes the penalties for this.
The population is also asked to report it if they come across a website or app from a crypto exchange or ‘online network’. What is meant by online network is not clear, it could mean that it is also forbidden to talk about it on social media.
Crypto ban resembles that of China
The ban is somewhat similar to the one China put in place in 2021. Also in China that year are all crypto transactions made prohibited. China is notorious for its ‘digital Great Wall’, which means that you cannot just visit all websites in China without a VPN if they do not meet the requirements of the Chinese government.
It is possible that the government is afraid that declining cryptocurrencies will have a negative impact on the economy. After all, the market is quite volatile, and whether certain tokens will survive the test of time, you may wonder.
Moreover, Nepal is quite a poor country. People in Nepal will therefore feel it more quickly if their portfolio falls in value than people in the Netherlands and Belgium. This is exactly why the United Nations warned emerging markets like this about the volatile market last year.
