Kazakhstan's cryptocurrency market has experienced explosive growth, with transaction volume reaching $10.5 billion by end-2025, representing a 30-fold increase from $320 million in 2023. According to Zakon.kz, the regulated market has continued expanding in 2026, with transaction volume reaching $5.5 billion in the first half of 2026. The customer base has grown dramatically from 53,000 clients in 2023 to 270,000 as of today, as reported by Yerkegali Yedenbayev, managing director of the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA). This growth comes after Kazakhstan implemented its region's first comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrency markets in 2023, with the legislation revised in spring 2025 to allow service providers to work outside the narrow legal regime of the fintech hub.
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has emerged as a major hub for digital asset transactions, with 35 digital asset service providers currently operating including 11 digital asset exchanges, 16 investment service providers, and 8 payment organizations. According to Yerkegali Yedenbayev, managing director of the Authorization and FinTech Office of the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee, the transaction volume through licensed providers increased 30-fold over a short period. Notable exchanges operating in the AIFC include Binance and Bybit, alongside 3 stablecoin issuers and various payment organizations. This infrastructure growth demonstrates the country's commitment to building a comprehensive digital asset ecosystem within its international financial center.
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the National Bank of Kazakhstan to explore digital payment services development in the country. The memorandum establishes a five-year framework for cooperation to explore connecting VEON's digital services with Kazakhstan's national payment and digital financial infrastructure. According to Investing.com, the agreement was signed at the Central Asia Fintech Summit in Almaty, hosted by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the National Payment Corporation and the Kazakhstan Fintech Network. Beeline Kazakhstan intends to pursue first-category payment organization status to support expansion of its payment services, subject to regulatory framework requirements and approvals. The areas under consideration include payment and money transfer processing, as well as settlement between financial market participants using services and infrastructure offered by the National Payment Corporation.
Kazakhstan has unveiled a comprehensive newly approved development plan for its digital asset industry that includes 65 measures across 10 areas, aimed at expanding the use of digital assets in the economy. According to Xinhua, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and the Energy Ministry have developed a mechanism to use associated petroleum gas for cryptocurrency mining. Under this mechanism, autonomous power plants installed directly at oil fields will generate electricity from associated gas for mining, as explained by Vice Minister of AI and Digital Development Gizzat Baitursynov. This initiative leverages Kazakhstan's abundant energy resources to support the country's growing cryptocurrency sector.
Kazakhstan's national strategic crypto reserve, established last year, has reached $700 million with around $200 million already invested, according to the latest government statement. The reserve is built from cryptocurrencies confiscated in criminal cases, with the National Investment Corporation earmarking $350 million from foreign currency and gold reserves for crypto-related investments. The government announced that $350 million was allocated to the reserve last year and another $350 million this year, with the portfolio managed by the National Bank's National Investment Corporation. The funds have been allocated to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), securities backed by digital assets including Bitcoin, and a national crypto custody service has been established on the basis of the Central Securities Depository. The government indicated the crypto reserve could be expanded in the future, including through confiscated crypto assets.
