Key Highlights
- Uzbekistan will allow stablecoins as legal money starting January 1, 2026.
- A regulatory sandbox and special trading platform will be created to support blockchain payments and tokenized shares.
- Neighboring countries like Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan are also adopting crypto regulations.
Starting January 1, 2026, Uzbekistan will officially recognize stablecoins as a legal means of payment. On November 27, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the law “On Measures for the Further Development of Financial Technologies,” which introduces a framework and pilot projects for blockchain-based payment systems.
The new law allows companies in Uzbekistan to issue tokenized shares and bonds, which will be traded on a new platform for licensed service providers.
New rules for stablecoins and blockchain payments
The decree outlines that the National Agency for Perspective Projects, together with the Central Bank, will oversee these new initiatives. According to local reports, licensed service providers will have access to the trading platform, which in turn would create structured opportunities for companies to explore digital securities.
Uzbekistan has already launched the HUMO token, a government bond-backed stablecoin, which operates through the national payment system and serves over 35 million cardholders.
Central Asia’s growing role in digital finance
This new law in Uzbekistan is part of a bigger trend in Central Asia, as neighboring Turkmenistan recently approved a law that allows cryptocurrency mining and exchanges as well.
President Serdar Berdymukhamedov said the law would “help attract investment and stimulate digitalization.” Turkmenistan requires miners and exchanges to register with the Central Bank and follow strict rules like anti-money laundering and KYC checks. But cryptocurrencies are not legal money, and the government does not take responsibility for losses.
Elsewhere, Kyrgyzstan has launched its own national stablecoin on the BNB Chain, while Kazakhstan has implemented one of the most mature crypto frameworks in the region.
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