25 sats \ 1 reply \ @tlindi 10 Jan 2023 \ on: Nepal Orders Internet Providers to Block Crypto-Related Websites bitcoin
Oh dear those nepalese?!?
Could someone tell 5 different ways for them to circulate such ban - for those there whos biggest worries are related to crypto (read: Bitcoin) transactions?
Citizens of Nepal are allowed to use VPNs and can freely access the internet for the most part. However, there has been a history of blackouts and content filtering, and the government has made it clear that it wants to censor online activity.
If that is true, then those wanting to circumvent the censorship can simply use a VPN. Does that hamper mass adoption? Of course. Does that mean bitcoin cannot be used in Nepal? Of course not.
Even if restrictions like GFW (China's great firewall) were to be imposed, that doesn't mean bitcoin stops working in the country. The options available will likely then depend on the penalty for being caught circumventing them. For example, presumably even in Nepal there are banks with apps where funds can be transferred either account-to-account (between clients of that bank) or person-to-person (send/receive to others regardless of their bank). So then Telegram, WhatsApp Discord, etc is used to coordinate and perform P2P trades. That's a less-than-ideal approach, but that's how bitcoin it traded frequently even in countries where these "bans" / restrictions are not in place.
If I had to guess, Nepal simply does not want large amounts of capital to flow out of the country, or for these platforms and exchanges to be so easily used by criminal elements, where the money trail fades away (and fighting crime based on that info no longer available becomes harder).
reply