Kathmandu. The suspicious transaction of ‘virtual’ property, which is considered illegal, is increasing in Nepal.

According to the Strategic Analysis Report, 2025 (2025 on Virtual Asset) released by the Financial Information Unit of Nepal Rastra Bank, 658 suspicious transactions have taken place in the last five years.

According to the report, more than 91 percent of the suspicious transactions are of 600 commercial banks. Similarly, 48 are related to development banks, 6 to remittance companies, 2 to finance companies, 1 to payment system operator and 1 to stock broker.

Transactions in virtual assets include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, utility tokens, and other tokenized assets. All these transactions are illegal in Nepal.

According to the report, from January 2021 to July 2025, 658 suspicious transactions and suspicious activities were reported by the Financial Information Unit under the Nepal Rastra Bank. The unit received information about 13 such transactions in 2021, 173 in 2022, 138 in 2023 and 252 in 2024.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has been forwarding such suspicious transactions and activities to various agencies.

According to the report, in the last five years, the NRB has sent 232 to the Nepal Police, 115 to the Department of Revenue Investigation, six to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, three to the Payment Services Department and one to the Inland Revenue Department.

Among the people who have suspicious transactions of virtual properties, 35 percent are 26 to 30 years old, 20 percent are 21 to 25 years old, 20 percent are 31 to 35 years old, 12 percent are 36 to 40 years old, 10 percent are over 41 years old and 3 percent are 16 to 20 years old.

Students were found to be the highest number of students in suspicious transactions at 29 percent. Similarly, 21 percent are employed, 19 percent are business owners, 5 percent are agriculture, 2 percent are engineers, 9 percent are foreign employment workers and 4 percent are self-employed.

Doctors, religious people and housewives constitute 1 percent each. According to the bank statements, 26 percent of the people have their bank accounts linked to the buying and selling of virtual assets such as crypto, bitcoin, hyperfund, hyperverse, MT coin.

According to the NRB, 16 percent of the people are involved in virtual asset transactions through various informal sources and emails, while 2 percent of the people use another person’s bank account (money mule) for crypto trading.

Similarly, 5 per cent used dollar cards to purchase bitcoin and scale tokens, 2 per cent were involved in gambling and crypto, 2 per cent were involved in crypto and hundi, and 4 per cent were motivated by crypto fraud.

According to the report, 42 percent were skeptical about the condition of their business.