HERAT: In the middle of a bazaar in western Afghanistan, Arezo Akrimi pulled out his smartphone and, after a few taps on the screen, exchanged some crypto for a bundle of cash.
Arezo, 19, is one of a hundred students from Herat who have been receiving around $200 a month in cryptocurrencies since last September thanks to the American non-governmental organization Code to Inspire.
This sum, which he turns into Afghans at an exchange office, is crucial for his rent and to help feed his family of six.
Since the Taliban's return last August, Afghanistan's economy has all but collapsed and the country is mired in crisis triggered by the seizure of billions of dollars in foreign assets.
But digital currencies and their decentralized architecture, impervious to international sanctions, are allowing a handful of young Afghans to avoid the worst of the crisis.
"It was very surprising to me that this could be used in Afghanistan," Arezo told AFP. "It was really helpful."
Code to Inspire was founded to teach computer programming to women in Herat, but its high-tech approach is now helping students raise funds in the economically disadvantaged nation as well.
Bank transfers to Afghanistan are currently almost impossible, to prevent the funds from falling into the hands of fundamentalists.
But even those with money in a bank struggle to get it out: Individuals are limited to withdrawing the equivalent of $200 a week and businesses $2,000.
Customers have to queue for hours even for those transactions.
Cryptocurrency transfers have allowed the NGO to get around these hurdles and ensure that every donation reaches those who need it most, founder Fereshteh Forough told AFP.
"Cryptocurrencies are an incredible way to overcome all kinds of political and economic sanctions, but also a tool that can change the lives of people living in an authoritarian regime," said the American, whose parents fled Afghanistan in the 1990s. 1980.
To ensure the financial security of its students, the NGO avoids paying them in Bitcoin, the best-known cryptocurrency but whose price fluctuates frequently.
Instead, it favors Binance USD (BUSD), one of the so-called "stablecoins" whose price is backed by the US dollar.
"A BUSD is a dollar," Forough said.
