Fereshteh Forough believed that when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August of last year, they would close her school in Herat, the country's third-largest city. Forough formed the NGO Code to Inspire to teach computer programming to young Afghan women, because the Taliban opposes secondary education for women.

Months later, the picture is far different — and considerably worse — than what Forough had envisioned. The school survived, primarily virtual, but has evolved from a coding boot camp into a relief organisation. Hunger was the greatest threat to Forough's students, not a lack of education. Forough attempted to find a method to send emergency funds to the women but was thwarted by banks unwilling to risk breaking severe U.S. sanctions.

JPMorgan Chase consistently denied her attempts to transfer money, she said, and she became increasingly concerned when students complained about being unable to withdraw cash from local Afghan banks, many of which had closed or imposed stringent withdrawal limits. As a result, she turned to cryptocurrencies to deliver monthly emergency payments to students in order to assist them purchase enough food to survive.

"Since September, we've been sending cash support, approximately $200 per month, to each family, because the majority of our students' families have lost their jobs." "They are the family's primary breadwinner," explained Forough, whose family escaped Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation in the early 1980s and now resides in New Hampshire. Code to Inspire pays its recipients in BUSD, a stablecoin whose value is linked to the US dollar, which the women then convert to afghanis, the local currency, using money exchanges. "We built a safe way for our girls to cash out their cryptocurrency and pay for bills, so they can pay for medical fees, food, and anything else that is required."

There are various benefits of utilising cryptocurrency: Afghans escaping the Taliban are free to take their assets with them. Humanitarian organisations trying to circumvent the Taliban can donate funds directly to those in need, bypassing banks. Smugglers and intermediaries who steal or try to resell aid packages can be avoided if aid is delivered directly via digital transaction.

"I am still in disbelief that I could get money without fear of it being confiscated in such a clear manner," T.N., a 21-year-old graphic design student in Herat enrolled in Code to Inspire, told Editorials 24. "Creating a BUSD wallet was really simple, and it was a great experience knowing how quickly and privately money can be received even in Afghanistan."

While Code to Inspire is especially tech-savvy in comparison to most Afghan NGOs, Forough isn't alone in believing that blockchain-based solutions could help Afghans in need during an unparalleled economic crisis.

Several other non-governmental organisations and humanitarian organisations are considering the use of cryptocurrency as an alternative to failed banks that are still hampered by sanctions and hawala networks of informal money traders that many fear are linked to the drug trade or controlled by the Taliban.

One American attorney assisting foreign organisations in Afghanistan stated that his clients are getting closer to experimenting with cryptocurrency payments, albeit he was not at liberty to identify the NGOs and requested anonymity to protect their identities. Others are taking a more conspicuous role in using the power of cryptocurrency to provide relief.

"You can trade back and forth, send it overseas or receive it overseas, without ever having to deal with banks or the Afghan government or Taliban."

Sanzar Kakar, a Seattle-raised Afghan American who has worked on commercial initiatives in Afghanistan, including a local ride-hailing company similar to Uber, developed an app. "We're attempting to solve the problem of 22.8 million Afghans marching towards starvation, including 1 million children this winter who may die of starvation," Kakar added. HesabPay, which debuted in 2019, enables Afghans to send money using cryptocurrency.

"We can't obtain money from banks, but 88 percent of Afghan families have at least one smartphone," said Kakar, who intends to facilitate afghani money transactions alongside USDC, another stablecoin. He is in the process of establishing money-exchange kiosks where Afghans can receive QR codes or trade cryptocurrency for conventional currency.

"You can trade back and forth, send it overseas or get it overseas, without ever touching banks or the Afghan government or Taliban," Kakar explained. "Everything is on the blockchain network."

A cash problem is at the heart of Afghanistan's escalating disaster. Following the withdrawal of US forces in August of last year, the country became isolated overnight. The United States seized assets from the Afghan national bank and prohibited the transfer of US cash. Afghani ended exports were printed by companies in Poland and France. Almost immediately, the SWIFT system, which underlies international banking transactions, ceased operations in Afghanistan. Commercial banks were unable to lend money, while retail clients were unable to withdraw funds from banks.

The international community's departure, fearful that any transaction within Afghanistan would violate Taliban restrictions, brought the economy to a standstill. Before the US left, over four-fifths of the Afghan budget was foreign-funded.

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