Nepal’s government agency that is in charge of regulating telecommunications has issued a directive to the country’s Internet Service Providers (ISPs), demanding that they ban any website that facilitates cryptocurrency trading and threatening legal action against them. ISPs that do not comply with the directive.

The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) issued a notice on January 8 instructing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and email service providers to restrict access to websites, applications or online networks that are associated with cryptocurrencies.

It was stated that in recent days there has been an increase in the number of transactions using virtual currencies, and it was reiterated that it is illegal to carry out transactions with cryptocurrencies within the country’s borders.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), which operates as the country’s central bank, issued a notification in September 2021 declaring cryptocurrency mining and cryptocurrency trading to be illegal activities.

An example of such behavior would be encouraging or helping other people to engage in illegal activities, which is illegal.

The notification that was circulated in April stated that legal action would be taken if anyone was found to have been involved in cryptocurrency-related activities. However, the notification did not call for a restriction on access to cryptographic services at that time.

A survey conducted and published in September by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis indicated that developing nations, including Nepal, are leading the way in global cryptocurrency adoption. This is the case despite the fact that the use of cryptocurrencies is prohibited in Nepal.

Nepal is now ranked higher than the UK and in the top 20 countries in the world as a direct result of the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency in the country.

Research conducted in November 2021 and published by the Law Library of Congress suggests that Nepal is one of nine countries in the world that have completely banned the use of cryptocurrencies.

Several nations, including China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar, and Tunisia, have passed laws making the use of cryptocurrencies illegal.