Summary
- Kazakhstan has been involved in crypto mining for several years.
- Legislators are keen to see the profits from this, as well as wider digital asset activity, be formalized and used to support the wider economy.
- Ministers have suggested that with prudent development, the country has the potential to become Central Asia’s crypto hub.
- For more stories about crypto’s development in countries worldwide, head to our Crypto in Action page.
What does Kazakhstan’s crypto sector look like?
In general, crypto is primarily mined in Kazakhstan, although given it can be traded, some users pursue it as a long-term investment. The market remains small, figures suggesting that user numbers may reach 4.6% during 2025. As of 2024, approximately 8% of Kazakhs own cryptocurrencies, with the country’s adoption rate standing at 57th globally. The revenue of the crypto market is forecast to reach just over $100 million during 2025.
How have the Kazakh authorities approached crypto?
The authorities are broadly supportive and look to be making a concerted effort to develop the country’s legal crypto operations. Positively, there’s no shortage of ideas, and the country has a dedicated vice-minister for digital development.
Overall, the authorities are taking a gradual approach to regulation while also seeking to integrate crypto activities into state institutions, like the flagship Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).
At this stage, ideas on policy thrust are gleaned more from what different legislators say. Several legislators have expressed their opinions, all of which relate back to the need to legalize the sector to counter illicit activity and loss to the exchequer.
Seeking to kickstart finance and tech sectors
Kazakhstan’s crypto sector has historically been most associated with crypto mining, with the country enjoying a brief period in 2021 as second in the world in terms of ‘hash rate’ – a measure of the computing power attributed to bitcoin mining.
Following acute power problems at the end of 2021, and a subsequent crackdown on grey operations and illegal platforms, the authorities have become interested in the sector’s potential to help develop the economy. As a result, there is a push to implement regulation that both improves transparency and ensures that operations – and their profits – remain within the Kazakh economy.
There is much work to be done. Currently, it is estimated that just 5% of crypto investors use regulated platforms. During 2024, the authorities shut down 36 unlicensed exchanges, which had a combined turnover of 60 billion tenge ($117.24 million). It is also estimated that 90% of cryptocurrency transactions occur outside the legal sector.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in January called for urgent reforms to improve the infrastructure for digital assets, and urged the country’s financial regulators to develop a stronger legal framework.
Vice-Minister for Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Kanysh Tuleushin, has also called for new crypto legislation, while also suggesting that regulatory restrictions be eased. He’s called for digital asset trading to be allowed countrywide, along with transparent exchanges and legal crypto ATMs, as part of moves to make the country Central Asia’s crypto hub.
Tuleushin views crypto miners as players in modernizing the economy and has said that they could help balance power supplies by consuming surplus energy. He’s also suggested a 70/30 energy programme, in which foreign investors would fund thermal power upgrades. A total of 70% of the generated capacity would go to the national grid, with the remaining allotted to crypto miners.
Regulations have been changing in recent years. According to Tuleushin, the government issued 84 licenses, accredited five mining pools and registered 415,000 mining machines, as of 2023. As of 2025, crypto miners are required to sell 75% of their assets on AIFC’s platforms, rising from 50% in 2024, and are taxed at a rate of 15%. But still many crypto transactions are made outside AIFC’s remit.
Cognisant of this, legislator Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva, has called for greater control over licensed exchanges and decriminalizing crypto trading for those using licensed platforms. It is hoped that a project under which crypto miners are mandated to store some of their assets on registered exchanges will help increase the sector’s size.
The development of a CBDC and crypto banking
The central bank has been developing a digital currency, the digital tenge. The project was announced in 2021, and development began in 2023 with the launch set for 2025. This is part of moves to introduce greater transparency into financial dealings. The Finance Ministry and Anti-Corruption Agency, along with what were described as ‘key entities’, signed an agreement to collaborate with the central bank to pilot the digital tenge’s use in public procurement and subsidies.
Alongside this, there has been considerable interest in crypto banks. Prime Minister Oljas Bektenov has said that they could play a role in the creation of a sustainable financial system. Crypto banks are viewed as the financial institutions required to support the increasing circulation of digital assets and developing platforms for their exchange.
Azat Peruashev, member of the lower house, has called for the creation of a crypto bank to provide both a legal exchange and custody platform for digital assets. Again, this is viewed as a means to improve transparency and user protection, with Peruashev arguing that such an institution could stop illegal money transfers out of the country as well as protect crypto users and counter scams.
Prime Minister Bektenov has echoed this sentiment, as is quoted as suggesting that crypto banks “will increase the investment attractiveness of the jurisdiction, reflecting the maturity of Kazakhstan’s financial infrastructure in the context of decentralized finance.”
Crypto legislation is slowly developing
Overall, the sector must adhere to 2009 legislation governing money laundering and terrorist financing.
In 2023, Law No. 193-VII on Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan came into force, establishing legal grounds for issuing, placing and circulating digital assets, as well as regulating crypto mining activities.
In May 2025, it was reported that the central bank was preparing a comprehensive legislative framework to regulate the circulation of digital assets, with the intent to stop the illicit movement of funds. The two-part legislation defines the legal status and procedures for issuing and using digital assets, while also introducing licensing for providers who exchange unsecured crypto.
A digital reserve has also been proposed. Operating under the central bank it would hold confiscated crypto assets. The authorities have also announced the creation of a digital asset regulatory sandbox.
Also in May 2025, it was revealed that in a further move to boost transparency and legal clarity, the central bank will license those service providers that convert crypto into the fiat, including stablecoin operations. This will involve a controlled list of approved cryptocurrencies, and national compliance standards, which service providers must meet.
Timeline of regulation and crypto developments
2021
In May, the central bank announced plans to issue a digital tenge as part of initial moves to create a CBDC.
2022
The CBDC digital tenge was run as a pilot project until December 2022 before being prepared for a broader market launch.
In July 2022, a tax on electricity for mining projects was imposed.
In October, Binance signed an MoU with the authorities aimed at fighting financial crime.
2023
In April, Law No. 193-VII on Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan, came into force. It legalized crypto mining and provided licenses to some registered cryptocurrency exchanges.
In October, crypto exchange, Coinbase, was banned, with the authorities accusing it of violating local laws related to trading uninsured digital assets.
2024
As part of a crackdown on unlicensed crypto activity, in October, the authorities dismantled nine illegal crypto mining sites, seized approximately 4,000 mining rigs, and blocked more than 5,500 unlicensed online exchanges.
2025
In January, President Tokayev called for urgent reforms to regulate the industry and crack down on illegal platforms.
Two months later, legislator Azat Peruashev, proposed the creation of a crypto bank to provide a legal exchange and custody platform for digital assets.
In April, Prime Minister Bektenov said that the country was considering crypto banks, as part of moves to create a sustainable ecosystem.
The following month, the central bank announced it was preparing a legislative framework to regular the circulation of digital assets.
Also in May, it was announced that the central bank would license all service providers who convert cryptocurrencies into the fiat.
Additionally in May, Binance signed an MoU with the country’s National Agency for Investments, allowing for the introduction of crypto payment infrastructure.
Measured approach expected to continue
There is little to suggest that the authorities will radically change policy direction. Instead, a continued slow, steady approach is expected, with regulation and integration into financial structures being used to formalize the sector and encourage its growth.
Capacity building for practitioners within the sector is required, and will help support these shifts as well as provide a greater sense of confidence in the country’s digital sector and supporting infrastructure.
