Kazakhstan, one of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs in the world, announced plans to introduce new crypto regulations aimed at reducing tax fraud and unlawful business operations. A new law signed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Feb. 6 reinstated the nation’s stand against the unlawful mining operations and issuance of crypto assets. Out of the two distinct legislations, the first requires the secured digital assets issuers to have the government’s permission. Moreover, such issuers will be subject to monitoring in accordance with the existing law of the land — “On Combating the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime …

The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has launched a digital tenge pilot project, according to a report published jointly by the bank and Binance on Feb. 3. The report looked at global approaches to digital asset regulation, the digital asset industry and decentralized finance (DeFi) in Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States in particular. In his introduction to the report, NBK Deputy governor Berik Sholpankupov wrote about the bank’s vision of a “collaboration between Traditional Finance and DeFi” that could increase financial inclusion and support international trade. He added: “In Kazakhstan, we also started a practical R&D project …

Kazakhstan, one of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) mining destinations in the world, issued a consultation paper to gauge public interest in proposed amendments to improve the cryptocurrency trading framework. The policy paper, released on Jan. 27, was laid down by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), a Kazakh regulator. The AFSA pointed out that the AIFC Digital Asset Trading Facility (DATF) regulatory framework dates back to 2018 and that the amendments seek to introduce certain enhancements. AFSA’s analysis highlighted problems related to the ongoing supervision of crypto exchanges — revealing “contradictions, inefficient provisions and uncertain definitions within the regime.” It …

Kazakhstan, the world’s third-largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hub after the United States and China, found feasibility in launching its in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital tenge. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) revealed the finding following the completion of the second phase of testing. In late October, Binance CEO Changpeng' CZ' Zhao announced that Kazakhstan's CBDC would be integrated with BNB Chain, a blockchain built by the crypto exchange. The country's primary motivation for conducting studies on CBDC was to test its potential to improve financial inclusion, promote competition and innovation in the payments industry and increase the …

In an announcement on Twitter, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, said the network will be a major component to Kazakhstan's latest Web3 endeavor. The Binance founder tweeted that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will integrate its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, on the BNB Chain, the underlying blockchain of the Binance network. National Bank of Kazakhstan (NKB) will integrate their CBDC on @BNBchain. #BNB https://t.co/33WMKwAczm — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 27, 2022 The NBK launched a CBDC pilot which included the participation of local merchants and consumers. Zhao said he looks forward to …

For over a year, the oil-rich Central Asian country of Kazakhstan has maintained its position as the third-biggest contributor to Bitcoin (BTC) mining after surpassing Russia back in February 2021. As of January 2022, Kazakhstan contributed to 13.22% of the total Bitcoin hash rate, positioned right after the historical leaders the United States (37.84%) and China (21.11%), as shown below. Along similar timelines, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance data estimated that Kazakhstan’s absolute hash rate contribution (monthly average) was 24.8 exahashes per second (Eh/s). Meanwhile, the US and China contributed 71 Eh/s and 39.6 Eh/s, respectively. The International Energy Agency …

Some cryptocurrency exchanges continue onboarding Russian nationals despite the latest Western sanctions against Russia, but not without certain restrictions. In late September, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev witnessed the nation’s first regulated fiat-to-crypto purchase by a local commercial bank, the Eurasian Bank. The transaction involved a local crypto exchange called Intebix, which allows retail clients to buy crypto with the local currency, the Kazakhstani tenge (KZT). Intebix is not limited to Kazakhstani nationals, and the crypto exchange is willing to service foreigners coming to the country, according to Intebix co-founder and CEO Talgat Dosanov. He emphasized that Intebix’s crypto transactions are …

After a build-up of multiple memorandums of understanding (MoU) and an initial “in-principle” approval to operate in Kazakhstan, Binance received a permanent license to operate in the country. As of Oct. 6, the Republic of Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) granted the permanent license to both manage a digital asset platform and provide custody services at the Astana International Financial Center. This newly acquired permanent license gives Binance official status as a regulated platform in the country. Gleb Kostarev, Asia Regional Head at Binance, said this is another step for Binance being a “compliance-focused exchange." Kostarev highlighted Kazakhstan’s recent …

Kazakhstan is ready to legalize a mechanism for converting cryptocurrencies to cash if there is demand, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, per local news agency Informburo on Sept. 28. Speaking at the international forum Digital Bridge 2022, Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan aims to become an international leader in the field of digital technology, cryptocurrency ecosystem and regulated mining. He noted that the government of Kazakhstan has drafted amendments in national law to pilot a mechanism for converting crypto at the Astana International Financial Centre. “We are ready to go further. If this financial instrument shows its further relevance and security, it …

The Astana Financial Services Authority, or AFSA, an independent financial regulator in Kazakhstan, has taken a step towards licensing major cryptocurrency exchange Binance to operate in the country. In a Monday announcement, AFSA said it had granted in-principle approval toward Binance operating as a digital asset trading facility and providing custody services in the Astana International Financial Centre, a financial hub in the capital city of Nur-Sultan. In a Monday blog post, Binance said it was required to complete the application process for approval, which the crypto exchange expected to do “in due course.” According to AFSA CEO Nurkhat Kushimov, …

In addition to its swift advances toward regulating crypto mining, Kazakhstan will launch a pilot project for crypto exchanges in the special economic zone of the Astana International Finance Centre. The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of the Kazakhstan Republic announced on Thursday a pilot project of cooperation between the crypto exchanges and some of the local banks. The working group formulated the guidelines for that cooperation, consisting of the representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development, the National Bank, the Financial Monitoring Agency, the Association of Financiers, Astana International Finance Centre and the finance and crypto …

While Kazakhstan’s government is catching up with the tremendous volume of crypto mining in the country by introducing new taxes and regulations, the local central bank intends to explore the possibilities that crypto offers. During the press conference held on Tuesday, the chairman of the Kazakhstan National Bank, Galymzhan Pirmatov, stated that the nation aims to extract the profit from technologies the cryptocurrency market could provide. He emphasized the attractiveness of innovations and made reservations about the risks to macroeconomic stability. The official doesn’t think that the bank is late to the game: “I don’t think that the National Bank …