Nepal’s Telecommunications Authority has ordered all internet service providers (ISPs) to stop all crypto-related operations.
The government of Nepal has taken a step to block cryptocurrency-related operations once again.
The Nepalese Telecommunications Authority issued a notice on January 8 ordering all internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict from managing or operating “websites, apps, or online networks” which are related to cryptocurrencies.
- The nation’s central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) banned crypto trading and mining in September 2021. The Nepali telecommunications authorities asked the general public for information in April 2022 about anyone engaging in prohibited activities, such as cryptocurrency.
- In the most recent warning, ISPs and email service providers are threatened with legal action if any cryptocurrency-related behaviour occurs on their platforms. According to the notification, unlawful virtual currency transactions in the country “are rising in recent days.”
- Even after the ban, Nepal is ahead of countries like the United Kingdom and Indonesia in Chainalysis’s 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, where it is rated 16th.
- A report by the Library of Congress lists Nepal as one of nine nations that have officially banned cryptocurrency, along with China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar, and Tunisia.