Kazakhstan has taken one of its most decisive steps yet toward integrating crypto and digital finance into its formal financial system, after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed sweeping amendments to the country’s banking and financial market laws.
The reforms go far beyond traditional banking oversight, laying out a clear legal framework for digital financial assets, regulated crypto activity, and fintech expansion.
Key Takeaways
Kazakhstan has legalized and regulated digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenized instruments.
Crypto trading will be allowed only through licensed exchanges under strict oversight.
The digital tenge is now officially recognized as a form of national currency.
The new legislation marks the final stage of a five-year overhaul of Kazakhstan’s financial regulation, designed to align the system with international standards while opening the door to innovation. For the crypto sector, the signal is clear: digital assets are no longer treated as a legal gray area but as a regulated part of the financial market.
Kazakhstan formally opens the door to digital assets
For the first time, Kazakhstan explicitly allows the circulation of digital financial assets within its jurisdiction. The law introduces a structured classification system that separates different types of tokenized instruments rather than treating all crypto-related assets the same.
One category covers assets backed by money, effectively allowing regulated stablecoins. Oversight of their issuance, circulation, and redemption will fall under the National Bank. Another category includes tokenized versions of financial instruments, property rights, commodities, and other assets, while a third focuses on financial instruments issued natively in digital form on licensed platforms.
These assets will be issued through newly defined digital platform operators, which will become licensed participants in the financial system. Importantly, digital financial assets will be subject to requirements similar to traditional instruments, including risk management, disclosure, and investor protection rules. This brings tokenized assets closer to mainstream capital markets rather than positioning them as speculative outliers.
Crypto exchanges move into a regulated framework
The law also directly addresses cryptocurrencies that are not backed by underlying assets. Instead of banning them, Kazakhstan plans to regulate their exchange. Licensed crypto exchange organizations will operate under the supervision of the National Bank, which will define which cryptocurrencies are permitted for trading and set limits on certain operations.
To reduce financial crime risks, crypto exchanges and related infrastructure providers will be included in the country’s financial monitoring regime. This places them under anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules similar to those applied to banks and payment firms.
Fintech expansion and bank participation
Banks are being encouraged to play a more active role in innovation. The reforms allow banks to invest in fintech companies and establish subsidiaries focused on areas such as digital platforms, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, biometrics, and telecommunications. This structure is intended to help traditional lenders build ecosystems around digital finance rather than compete against it from the sidelines.
A major infrastructure upgrade is also underway, covering open banking systems, national payment rails, digital identity exchange, and the rollout of the digital tenge. The law formally recognizes the digital tenge as a new form of national currency, with its use and circulation to be defined by the National Bank.
A regional signal
Taken together, the reforms position Kazakhstan as one of the more proactive jurisdictions in Central Asia when it comes to crypto and digital finance regulation. Instead of relying on restrictive measures, the country is opting for controlled liberalization – allowing innovation while keeping regulators firmly in charge of licensing, oversight, and consumer protection.
The approach suggests Kazakhstan is aiming to attract fintech investment and digital asset activity without sacrificing financial stability, potentially setting a regulatory template for neighboring markets watching how crypto policy evolves in practice.
