Nepal Telecommunication Authority Blocks Crypto-Related Websites And Apps. Nepali authorities are taking steps to block cryptocurrency-related activities. In a notification of January 8, 2023, the Telecommunications Authority of Nepal instructed all internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent the operation and management of crypto-related websites, applications or online networks.
Reporting from CoinDesk, Tuesday (17/1/2023), earlier in September 2021, the country’s central bank banned cryptocurrency activities including trading and mining.
As of April 2022, Nepal’s telecommunication authority is seeking information from the public about anyone participating in illegal activities, such as cryptocurrencies.
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Recent concerns threaten legal action against ISPs and email service providers if crypto-related activity occurs on their platforms. The notice stated that illegal virtual currency transactions in the country had increased in recent days.
Despite the ban, Nepal ranks 16th in Chainalysis’s 2022 Global crypto Adoption Index, ahead of countries like the UK and Indonesia.
Nepal is one of nine countries along with China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar and Tunisia that have implemented an absolute ban on cryptocurrencies, according to a report from the Library of Congress.
Previously, the illegal use of cryptocurrency reached a record USD 20.1 billion or the equivalent of IDR 305.4 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 15,203 per US dollar) in 2022 because transactions involving companies targeted by US sanctions skyrocketed. Data from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis shows as of Thursday (12/1/2023).
The cryptocurrency market slumped throughout 2022, as risk appetite dwindled and crypto companies collapsed. Investors were left with heavy losses and regulators stepped up calls for more consumer protection.
“Even as overall crypto transaction volume fell, the value of crypto transactions related to illicit activity rose for the second year in a row,” said Chainalysis, quoted from Yahoo Finance, Friday (1/13/2023).
Nepal Telecommunication Authority Blocks Crypto-Related Websites And Apps. Chainalysis added that transactions related to sanctioned entities will increase by more than 100,000 times by 2022 and account for 44 percent of illicit activity last year.
Funds received by Russian exchange Garantex, which were approved by the US Treasury in April, account for most of the banned volume in 2022.
Much of that activity was “potentially Russian users using Russian exchanges.” A spokesperson for Chainalysis said wallets were marked “illegal” if they were part of a sanctioned entity.
The United States also imposed sanctions last year on cryptocurrency blending platforms Blender and Tornado Cash, which it says are being used by hackers, including from North Korea, to launder billions of dollars in proceeds from their cybercrimes.
The volume of stolen crypto funds rose 7 percent last year, but other illegal crypto transactions including those related to fraud, ransomware, terrorism financing, and human trafficking, saw their volumes decrease.
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“A downturn in the market may be one reason for this. We have found in the past that crypto scams, for example, generate less revenue during bear markets,” explained Chainalysis.
Chainalysis says the estimated USD 20.1 billion includes only activity recorded on the blockchain, and excludes “off-chain” crimes such as fraud by crypto companies.
Previously, Immunefi, a bug and security service platform for the Web3 ecosystem, published a report which revealed that the crypto industry lost a total of USD 3.9 billion or the equivalent of IDR 60.97 trillion (exchange rate of IDR 15,633 per USD) in 2022.
According to a report released on January 6, hacking was found to be the main cause of losses accounting for 95.6 percent of total losses.
The remaining 4.4 percent is in the form of fraud and the like. Immunefi also found that decentralized finance (DeFi) was the most targeted sector, experiencing a loss of 80.5 percent, compared to centralized finance (CeFi) which experienced a loss of 19.5 percent.
“DeFi has suffered a total loss of USD 3,180,023,103 in 2022, from 155 incidents. This figure represents a 56.2 percent increase compared to 2021, when DeFi lost USD 2,036,015,896 from 107 incidents,” wrote the report, quoted by Cointelegraph, Saturday (7/1/2023).
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Nepal Telecommunication Authority Blocks Crypto-Related Websites And Apps. CryptoBNB and Ethereum are the most targeted chains. In the fourth quarter of last year, the industry suffered losses of around USD 1.6 billion, of which DeFi was the main target at 57.6 percent and CeFi 42.4 percent.
“By identifying and proactively addressing vulnerabilities, we can protect communities from harm and build trust on the ground. As we make the industry safer, everything else can evolve,” said Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador.
