Kazakhstan has shut down greater than 100 cryptocurrency exchanges this 12 months in what quantities to an enormous crackdown on unlawful coin buying and selling inside its borders.
The information comes regardless of earlier indications that the nation intends to develop its licensing regime to cowl extra platforms offering such companies because it seeks to place itself as a significant Eurasian crypto vacation spot.
Astana confiscates report quantity of digital belongings from busted exchanges
The authorities in Kazakhstan have closed down 130 unlawful cryptocurrency exchanges, seizing tens of millions of U.S. {dollars}’ value of digital belongings.
The tally, quoted by native and regional media, was made public by Kairat Bizhanov, deputy chairman of the Monetary Monitoring Company (AFM).
In line with a report by the Instances of Central Asia, a web based English-language newspaper protecting regional developments, he detailed:
“The actions of 130 unlicensed crypto exchanges concerned in laundering prison proceeds have been terminated this 12 months. Digital belongings value $16.7 million have been seized.”
Talking throughout a authorities assembly, the AFM official additionally emphasised that the company is intensifying efforts to fight unlawful cash-out operations.
Because the starting of 2025, Kazakh authorities have uncovered 81 prison teams concerned in such actions.
These accounted for greater than 24 billion tenge (over $44 million) in turnover, the official added, additionally quoted by the enterprise information outlet Kapital.kz on Tuesday.
Regardless of devoted measures launched by the manager energy in Astana, it is a trillion tenge greater than final 12 months, Bizhanov admitted.
He additionally identified that dangers primarily stem from nameless transactions, the place neither the sender nor the recipient is recognized.
Highlighting the widespread exploitation of “cash mules” by criminals and fraudsters within the former Soviet area, the regulator added:
“These operations are sometimes performed utilizing financial institution playing cards issued to nominal house owners.”
To curb the apply, the AFM and the Nationwide Financial institution of Kazakhstan (NBK) have adopted new guidelines, with debit card top-ups exceeding 500,000 tenge (simply over $900) now requiring the availability particular person identification numberс and affirmation through cell banking apps.
Since Jan. 1, banks are additionally obliged to maintain footage from cameras put in at ATM areas for a minimum of 180 days. The watchdog additionally plans to develop biometric identification, together with facial and fingerprint recognition, for all money transactions.
Comparable steps have been just lately taken by regulators in Russia, the place cash mules, generally referred to as “droppers,” are additionally a critical prison phenomenon.
These embrace empowering banks to implement a $600 each day restrict on money withdrawals, in case of suspicious transactions, and adopting amendments which were criticized for focusing on crypto merchants.
Kazakhstan’s roundup comes after final month’s legislation enforcement companies in Moscow raided Russian crypto exchanges suspected of facilitating capital flight, as reported by Cryptopolitan.
Exchanges working exterior Kazakhstan’s AIFC hub nonetheless unlawful
In line with Kazakhstan’s legislation “On Digital Belongings,” solely crypto exchanges licensed by the Astana Monetary Companies Authority (AFSA) are licensed to function within the nation.
The AFSA is the regulatory physique answerable for overseeing actions below the particular regime of the Astana Worldwide Monetary Middle (AIFC), the monetary hub within the capital metropolis.
Exchanges working with out an AFSA license are nonetheless thought of unlawful in Kazakhstan, regardless of statements in Could revealing that the monetary authorities are getting ready to legalize different buying and selling as effectively.
They have been anticipated to develop the present licensing scheme past the AIFC jurisdiction to cowl platforms not registered as its residents, thus boosting crypto transactions in the remainder of the nation.
Kazakhstan, which is already a significant Bitcoin mining hotspot, aspires to turn out to be a magnet for all crypto enterprise in Eurasia.
Whereas often blaming miners for energy deficits and monetary losses, Astana has additionally acknowledged it remodeled $31 million in tax revenues from the trade over the previous three years.
