The Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of Financial Market revealed the launch of a pilot project for the development and operation of crypto exchanges in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).
As per the published report, the pilot will monitor crypto exchanges operating under the AIFC with the collaboration of local banks and government agencies.
The AIFC was rolled out in 2018 to develop Kazakhstan’s non-banking financial sector and become a financial hub for Central Asia. Currently, at AIFC 1,046 companies have been registered.
The official letter stated that the amendments were being made to the current law formulation that excludes banking services being used to run cryptocurrency operations.
However, the amendments will also enable such activities subject to the necessary due diligence on the origin of funds, the nature of the AIFC participants’ activities, cooperation with the relevant financial authorities and so on.
Last year, after China announced a back to back crackdown on crypto operation and mining, many crypto industry players have relocated their businesses to Kazakhstan.
According to a report by the National Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry(NABDC), Kazakhstan’s flourishing crypto mining industry has the capability to pull a massive $1.5 billion into the nation’s economy in a five-year period.
