Banking Chaos Amid Taliban Afghanistan Takeover Shows Need For Wider Adoption of Bitcoin, Other Cryptos, Say Backers

Taliban’s takeover of major cities in Afghanistan caused that country’s citizens to scramble for cash, which as per some backers of cryptocurrencies is an indicator for the need for more decentralized money.

What Happened: As panic set in, Afghans crowded banks trying to access their savings, as per a BBC report.

Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi shared a video of her trip to a bank as the radical Islamist militia the Taliban moved into the capital city. 

Karimi’s trip to the bank was futile as it was closed and being evacuated.

The chaos in the Afghan capital has not gone unnoticed by cryptocurrency commentators who pointed to certain advantages Bitcoin has in such dire times.

Indian financial journalist Sucheta Dalal noted that people of means would have left after having their funds transferred from Afghanistan in such circumstances.

Why It Matters: Not only did some people note the fact that Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies would have made it difficult to confiscate wealth and to keep it safe but the whole situation could have been avoided had the world adopted decentralized money.

It is notable that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be stored on tiny USB thumb drive sized hardware wallets or on online wallets. A user only needs to remember the corresponding passphrase or key to have access to funds.

Some Twitter users noted that aspect of the cryptocurrency in their posts.

Price Action: Bitcoin traded 1.72% higher at $47,300.06 over 24 hours at press time.