Kazakhstan’s central bank is preparing sweeping changes to the country’s cryptocurrency market, ranging from a crypto amnesty to loans backed by digital assets. The plans were outlined by Binur Zhalenov, deputy chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, at the Solana Summit, according to Forbes Kazakhstan.
National Bank to create crypto oversight committee
According to Zhalenov, the National Bank plans to establish a specialized committee that will serve as the central coordinating body for the country’s cryptocurrency industry.
The regulator is currently testing several new segments of the digital asset market through a regulatory sandbox. Areas under review include loans secured by crypto assets, regulated custody services for institutional investors and cryptocurrency insurance products.
Unregulated market remains dominant
The National Bank estimates that a significant share of cryptocurrency activity in Kazakhstan continues to take place outside the official regulatory framework.
Notably, the regulated crypto sector recorded approximately $10.5 billion in transaction volume last year. However, the unregulated market is estimated to be two to three times larger.
«Our goal is to create clear rules to ensure capital flows into a transparent environment. We do not consider all crypto users operating outside the regulated sector to be criminals. This is simply a signal that something has not been working effectively within the existing framework, and we are addressing it,» Zhalenov said.
New regulatory framework modeled on Europe
The National Bank is also developing a new framework for regulating digital assets. Under the proposal, digital assets would be divided into several categories, including tenge-denominated stablecoins, tokenized financial instruments and other classes of digital assets.
According to Zhalenov, Kazakhstan’s approach will be broadly aligned with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
The central bank believes that financial markets will increasingly transition to blockchain-based infrastructure in the coming years. The shift is expected to extend beyond capital markets and into the payments sector.
Officials envision integrating digital assets with existing financial infrastructure, including point-of-sale terminals, QR-code payment systems and traditional exchanges, creating a more interconnected digital financial ecosystem.
