Kazakhstani officials have approved rules that govern the interactions of authorized cryptocurrency trading platforms with traditional financial institutions. These new regulations will permit registered cryptocurrency exchanges in Kazakhstan to establish bank accounts.
Pilot project to develop Kazakhstan into regional crypto hub
The ministry said that regulations allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to be registered at Astana International Financial Centers (AIFCs) can have been approved by a working party made up of representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development and the central bank. They also include financial regulators as well as financial professionals from the financial sector.
The initiative is part of a project aimed at introducing a regulatory framework that will facilitate the development of Kazakhstan’s potential as a regional crypto hub. The pilot will run through 2022 and include crypto trading platforms that have been licensed by the AIFC Financial Services Authority, (AFSA). A press release details.
When China began cracking down on crypto mining in May 2013, Kazakhstan became a popular destination for cryptocurrency miners. Bagdat Musin from the Digital Development Ministry said that crypto mining does not include crypto wallets and exchanges. A high ranking government official explained:
It works in the same way as other industries and is beneficial to our economy. We must make money on crypto exchange — this is the next level of development of financial technologies.
Musin insisted that the Central Asian nation needs to create a full-fledged ecosystem so that the digital assets extracted using Kazakhstan’s electricity are traded on local exchanges and the respective income remains in the country.
Digital Ministry stated that the pilot program will permit the regulation trading of digital currency, which will protect both professional and retail investors. If its implementation is successful, the authorities in Nur-Sultan plan to introduce amendments to the country’s legislation and the acts governing the AIFC.
Nurkhat Kushimov, Director of AFSA, pointed out that the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee now oversees all activities in Kazakhstan. Each entity applying for a license is thoroughly checked, and then supervised. “Our goal is to create an environment in which only trustworthy and stable companies that enjoy the trust of customers would operate,” the official stated.
The positive development for the local crypto industry comes after a recent statement by the National Bank of Kazakhstan which announced it’s closely following the market while noting it’s too early to talk about legalization of cryptocurrencies. The monetary authority stated that it will capitalize on the innovation potential of crypto technology.
Are you optimistic that Kazakhstan will adopt crypto-friendly laws in the near future? Leave a comment below.
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