Original Title: An Unlikely Source of Crypto Innovation: Afghanistan
Original Author: Aryn Baker, The New York Times
Translated by Luffy, Foresight News
At a crowded currency exchange in northwest Syria, 46-year-old farmer Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud tightly clutches a plastic card, as if it were her lifeline. She had never heard of cryptocurrency before, but the $500 worth of digital currency stored on this card could help her restart her farm after nearly 14 years of civil war.
After the cashier confirmed the amount and withdrew the cash, Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud finally heaved a sigh of relief, smiled, and softly expressed her gratitude. She couldn't help but wonder where this technology had come from.
The answer surprised her: Afghanistan.
In this country, known for its conservative Taliban rule, the government is deeply suspicious of the internet. Yet, few would have imagined that such an innovative technology as blockchain-based money transfers could emerge here. However, in this nation largely isolated from the world, an Afghan startup is developing various tools, aiming to transform the way humanitarian aid is distributed in war-torn countries.
"We have personally experienced these difficulties, so we deeply understand how to create a practical and effective solution." Zakia Hussaini, 26, is a programmer at the startup HesabPay. It is the company's technology that supports the card which has changed Almahmoud's fate.
Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud stands outside her house near Rithmehne, Syria. She received $500 in cryptocurrency aid to restart her farming business.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was an early supporter of the platform, using HesabPay to support over 86,000 families in Afghanistan—one of the largest blockchain-based humanitarian aid projects in the world. Mercy Corps, the organization that provided funding for Almahmoud, is also partnering with HesabPay to expand the platform's services to Syria, with aid programs for Sudan and Haiti currently in development.
In Syria, obtaining funds from overseas is fraught with difficulties: there is a shortage of cash, international banks avoid the country, and money transfer companies like Western Union charge fees as high as 10%. HesabPay enables organizations like Mercy Corps to bypass these obstacles.
The founder of HesabPay is Sanzar Kakar, an Afghan-American entrepreneur who previously operated Afghanistan's leading payroll processing company. In 2021, after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power, a financial collapse ensued. International sanctions halted all cross-border transactions, and the central banking system collapsed as well.
To address the increasingly severe financial security issues in his country, Sanzar Kakar turned to blockchain technology. He developed a mobile app named HesabPay, derived from the local Afghan term for "account," which enables instant money transfers between digital wallets without the need for banks or the intervention of the Taliban government. He stated that the Afghan government has issued a license to his company, allowing it to operate officially as a financial institution.
Mercy Corps, an aid organization providing assistance through donated funds, has partnered with HesabPay to expand the platform's reach to Syria.
Today, the platform has over 650,000 digital wallets in Afghanistan, of which approximately 50,000 are actively used on a daily basis. Around $60 million is transacted monthly through stablecoins backed by Afghan currency.
Carmen Hett, the financial director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), revealed that since February 2025, the United Nations has distributed nearly $25 million in aid to the digital wallets of 80,000 vulnerable Afghan returnees through HesabPay. "This model significantly reduces transaction fees, shortens the waiting time for funds to arrive, and enhances the traceability, real-time monitoring, and accountability of transactions," she said.
Ric Shreves, an expert in decentralized finance solutions and chairman of the Decentralized Collaboration Foundation, said it's no surprise that organizations like Mercy Corps and the United Nations have chosen blockchain-based transfers for their aid work. For these institutions, this model "has almost only advantages compared to traditional methods of aid distribution."
However, he also pointed out that this model still carries risks, especially in payment systems in countries like Afghanistan, where stablecoins are backed by local currency (in contrast, Syria's HesabPay wallet uses stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars, making it a more secure option). Digital wallets may be frozen due to transactions with sanctioned individuals, and in theory, central banks of various countries could also freeze wallets for political reasons.
Mercy Corps has successfully delivered aid funds to Syria using blockchain technology, where there is a shortage of cash on the ground and most international banks do not operate in the country.
"We provide a non-physical means of transaction, which also means these transactions can potentially be blocked through technological means," said Ric Shreves. He added that although digital currency is much safer than cash, it cannot be hidden under a mattress like cash can.
In recent years, aid organizations have increasingly favored cash-based assistance, as it is efficient and preserves the dignity of recipients. However, cash has a critical drawback: it is difficult to track. Donors want evidence that their money actually reaches those in need. Since President Trump significantly reduced U.S. foreign aid funding at the beginning of last year, organizations like Mercy Corps have faced greater pressure to demonstrate the real impact of their aid and ensure compliance in how funds are used.
Blockchain technology happens to address this issue: it generates a clear digital trail, accurately recording the amount of each fund distributed, the recipients, and how the funds are used. Scott Onder, Chief Investment Officer of Mercy Corps, said that this model, which combines efficiency with accountability, "might help regain the trust of those who have started to doubt the value of aid work."
HesabPay is also equipped with additional security measures, such as a real-time data dashboard that tracks wallet transactions and cross-references them with international compliance databases. The company states that this system can identify illegal activities such as terrorist financing, money laundering, and cyber fraud, and will immediately issue alerts upon detecting any suspicious transactions. For aid donors, it provides a level of oversight that is difficult to achieve in fragile countries.
Abdul Moti Hammoud, a resident of Hafah, lost a leg after accidentally stepping on a landmine while driving a tractor. He is also one of the beneficiaries of Mercy Corps' assistance programs.
During a recent online demonstration, the company's senior advisor for humanitarian affairs, Nigel Pont, clicked on a purple dot representing a HesabPay agent in Afghanistan. Dozens of light blue wallet icons, symbolizing beneficiaries, then unfolded, clearly displaying recent transaction records. With another click, the subsequent flow of funds became visible. During the demonstration, one wallet suddenly flashed a red potential fraud alert. Although this caused a slight awkward moment in the live stream, it precisely demonstrated the system's ability to identify risks.
Nigel Pont, who previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Mercy Corps, said, "From the perspective of aid donors, the value of this feature is immeasurable. A system that can automatically flag fraud risks allows us to conduct immediate investigations, rather than waiting six months to receive a report and then discovering that $20,000 in aid funds have been misappropriated." He acknowledged, however, that no system can completely eliminate corruption, and cash assistance is no exception.
Abdul Halim Hasan, 22, who was waiting in line with Almahmoud at a currency exchange in Syria to cash out, said he hopes one day to use HesabPay like a regular bank account, safely receiving and making payments and saving money. For now, however, it is enough that the HesabPay card allows him to access the funds he needs to restart his life after the war.
"I sincerely hope this approach can be widely adopted in Syria," he said.
Click to learn about BlockBeats' job openings.
Welcome to join the official Lulin BlockBeats community:
Telegram Subscription Group:https://t.me/theblockbeats
Telegram discussion group:https://t.me/BlockBeats_App
Official Twitter account:https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia