Kathmandu, Sept. 8 -- Cryptocurrency users around the world can now donate to Nepal's Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund without sending digital currencies into the country, thanks to a new financial channel that converts crypto into US dollars in the United States before transferring the money through the formal banking system.

The arrangement has created a legal corridor for crypto-based relief donations at a time when Nepal bans the use and trading of cryptocurrencies.

By Monday, $500 in crypto-to-fiat donations had reached the government's relief fund, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle told Kantipur. Donors can send cryptocurrencies from anywhere in the world, which are converted into dollars and ultimately into Nepali rupees before...