By Aryn Baker , The New York Times
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
Original title: Afghanistan's Stablecoin : An Unexpected Hub of Crypto Innovation
At a bustling currency exchange in northwestern Syria, a 46-year-old farmer clutches a plastic card as if it were her lifeline. She had never heard of cryptocurrency, but the card contained $500 in it, enough to help her restart her farm after nearly 14 years of civil war.
When the teller confirmed the amount and withdrew the cash from Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud's account, the farmer smiled with relief and stopped to express her gratitude. She asked where such technology came from.
The answer surprised her: Afghanistan.
Many might not imagine that this innovative blockchain-based cash transfer comes from a country ruled by the Taliban and skeptical of the internet. Yet, in this largely isolated nation, an Afghan startup is developing tools that could revolutionize the way humanitarian aid is delivered in conflict-ravaged countries.
“We’ve been through these challenges ourselves, so we know how to come up with effective solutions,” said Zakia Hussain, a 26-year-old programmer at the startup HesabPay. HesabPay is the company that designed the technology behind the card held by Ms. Almahmoud.
Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud stands outside her home near Latamina, Syria. She received $500 in cryptocurrency aid, which will help her restart her farm.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was one of the platform's early supporters. The agency has used the platform to support more than 86,000 families in Afghanistan, making it one of the world's largest public blockchain aid projects. Mercy Corps, the charity that donated to Ms. Almahmoud, is partnering with HesabPay to expand aid efforts to Syria and is currently developing projects for Sudan and Haiti.
In Syria, obtaining funds from abroad is extremely complicated. Cash is scarce, international banks avoid them, and money transfer companies like Western Union charge fees as high as 10%. HesabPay allows institutions like Mercy Corps to bypass these obstacles.
Sanzar Kakar, an Afghan-American entrepreneur, is the founder of HesabPay, which previously ran Afghanistan's largest payroll processing company. However, the 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power triggered a financial collapse. Sanctions disrupted international remittances, and central banks were paralyzed.
In response to the country's growing financial insecurity, Mr. Kakar turned to blockchain technology. He created HesabPay (meaning "account" in the local language), a mobile app that allows instant transfers from one digital wallet to another, bypassing banks and the Taliban government. He says the Afghan government has granted his business a license to operate a formal financial institution.
Mercy Corps, the aid organization that donated the funds, partnered with HesabPay to expand the platform's services to Syria.
Today, the platform has over 650,000 wallets in Afghanistan, of which about 50,000 are in active use, transferring approximately $60 million worth of Afghan Ni stablecoins (a stablecoin pegged to the Afghan currency) monthly.
Since February 2025, the United Nations has used HesabPay to distribute nearly $25 million to Afghans returning home through 80,000 digital wallets. Carmen Hett, Corporate Finance Director at the UNHCR, said: “This helps reduce transaction costs, shorten wait times, and enhance transaction traceability, real-time monitoring, and accountability.”
Ric Shreves, a decentralized finance solutions expert and chairman of the Decentralized Cooperation Foundation, said it's not surprising that organizations like Mercy Corps and the United Nations are turning to blockchain-based money transfers to provide aid. He stated that for these organizations, "this aid method is almost entirely advantageous compared to traditional aid methods."
However, he also pointed out that risks remain, especially in situations where payment systems are based on local currency stablecoins, such as in Afghanistan. (In Syria, the cryptocurrency in the HesabPay wallet is backed by the US dollar, a more stable option.) Just as a wallet could be shut down for interacting with sanctioned individuals, it could theoretically be shut down by a country's central bank for political reasons.
Using blockchain technology makes it easier for Mercy Corps to send money to Syria, where cash is scarce and international banks typically do not operate.
Ric Shreves stated, "When we provide people with non-physical means of transaction, it also means that these transactions can potentially be blocked through technological means." He added that cryptocurrencies are clearly more secure than cash, but they still can't be hidden under a mattress like cash.
In recent years, aid organizations have increasingly opted for cash assistance, viewing it as a quick and dignified form of aid. However, cash assistance has a drawback: the difficulty in tracking the flow of funds. Donors want to see their donations actually reach those in need. Since President Trump drastically cut U.S. foreign aid early last year, organizations like Mercy Corps have faced increased pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness and integrity of their aid.
This is where blockchain comes in; it can create a digital record that accurately tracks how much money was sent, to whom it was sent, and where the money went. Scott Onder, chief investment officer at Mercy Corps, said this combination of speed and accountability "may be able to regain the trust of those who have doubts about the effectiveness of the aid."
HesabPay also comes equipped with additional security measures, such as a real-time dashboard to track wallet activity and cross-check it against international compliance databases. The company states that the system is designed to detect illicit activities such as terrorist financing, money laundering, and online fraud, and to issue immediate alerts when suspicious transactions occur. For aid donors, this provides a monitoring mechanism that is virtually impossible to implement in vulnerable countries.
Abdul Moti Hammoud, a resident of Halfaya, lost a leg after hitting a landmine while driving a tractor. He is a beneficiary of the relief organization Mercy Corps.
In a recent online demonstration, Nigel Pont, the company's senior advisor for humanitarian affairs, clicked on a purple dot representing a HesabPay agent in Afghanistan. Dozens of light blue beneficiary wallets then unfolded, displaying recent transaction records. Clicking again revealed where the funds had gone. Subsequently, one wallet suddenly lit up red, issuing a suspected fraud alert—a slightly embarrassing moment in the live demonstration, but precisely the type of risk the system was designed to identify.
“From the perspective of aid donors, this is extremely valuable,” said Nigel Pont, former chief strategy officer at Mercy Corps. “A system that can automatically flag fraud risks means you can verify immediately, instead of waiting six months to receive a report that someone stole $20,000.” Pont acknowledged that no system can completely eliminate corruption, but then again, the same applies to cash.
22-year-old Abdul Halim Hasan was queuing at the same currency exchange in Syria as Ms. Almahmoud. He said he imagined one day using HesabPay as a regular bank account to receive funds, pay bills, and securely deposit money. But for now, his HesabPay card provided him with the funds he needed to rebuild his post-war life, and that was enough.
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