Nepal orders ISPs to block crypto websites or face law.

 

Nepal's telco regulator warned internet and email providers to block crypto-related sites or face legal action.

Nepal's telecom regulator ordered ISPs to block all cryptocurrency trading websites, threatening legal action for noncompliance.

Nepal's telecom regulator ordered ISPs and email providers to block crypto-related websites, apps, and networks on Jan. 8.

It said virtual currency transactions are "rising" and that they're illegal in the country.

Nepal's central bank, NRB, banned crypto trading and mining in 2021. Promoting crypto is also illegal.

In Apr. 2022, the NTA issued a similar warning about crypto websites, asking the public to notify the regulator if they knew the website's name.

In April, it threatened legal action if "anyone is found to have done" crypto-related activities, but did not call for a block on crypto services.

Despite being illegal in Nepal, emerging markets, including Nepal, are at the forefront of global crypto adoption, according to a Chainalysis report from September 2022.

Nepal's crypto adoption ranked 16th globally, above the UK.

Nepal is one of nine countries that have banned cryptocurrencies, the Law Library of Congress reported in Nov. 2021.

China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar, and Tunisia.