Cardano's Charles Hoskinson Expects Cryptocurrencies to Play Larger Role in Afghanistan

The founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, says that he expects cryptocurrencies to “play a larger role” in Afghanistan amid war with the Taliban forces.

Charles Hoskinson Sees Cryptocurrencies Playing Larger Role in Afghanistan

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum, explained in an interview with CNBC Tuesday that cryptocurrencies are likely to play a larger role in Afghanistan, citing a rising need for more privacy.

The Cardano founder believes that there will be ongoing civil war in the country and “already the remnants of the northern alliance have been formed, and they’re going to need resources.” He noted that “Unlike the last time, in the 90’s when this happened, now cryptocurrencies are there,” elaborating:

It is my belief that cryptocurrencies are going to play a larger role in Afghanistan this time around, in the war for and against the Taliban forces.

The Pentagon said Monday that the U.S. finished its withdrawal efforts from the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, effectively ending a 20-year conflict that began soon after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001. However, there are some U.S. citizens and Afghans in the country who wanted to leave Afghanistan but were unable to do so.

Hoskinson described:

It’s going to be really interesting to see how that gets integrated into statecraft and how that gets integrated into resistance against a regime that clearly doesn’t care for the rights of many people and clearly wants to put in a theocracy that belongs more in the 13th century than the 21st century.

Cryptocurrency and bitcoin adoption have been growing in Afghanistan particularly during the recent cash shortage.

The 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index, compiled by blockchain data platform Chainalysis, shows that Afghanistan ranks 20th out of 154 countries. In comparison, the U.S. ranks 8th on the index. The top-ranking country for crypto adoption is Vietnam, followed by India and Pakistan.