Starting May 1, 2026, Kazakhstan will introduce regulation of digital assets.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan announced the launch of systemic regulation of digital asset circulation. The corresponding changes are enshrined in the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan.” A unified legal regime for the circulation of digital assets in a regulated environment has been established.

Under the new legislation, two main types of digital assets have been defined. The first is unbacked digital assets, i.e., cryptocurrencies. The second is digital financial assets, which include money-backed stablecoins, tokenized real assets, and digital forms of traditional financial instruments.

Digital financial assets form a new class of investment instruments that expand opportunities for capital raising and investor access to various types of assets. The circulation of unbacked digital assets is expanded through licensed providers, ensuring transparency of operations and state control.

An institute of digital asset service providers of three types is introduced:

— operators of digital financial asset platforms — issue digital financial assets in tokenized form, ensure their circulation and accounting of rights in transactions
— operators of trading platforms — organize trading with digital and unbacked digital assets, essentially crypto exchanges
— operators of unbacked digital asset exchanges — conduct operations for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, i.e., crypto exchanges.

All three types of providers also open and maintain digital asset wallets and conduct user operations in a regulated environment.

Starting May 1, 2026, operators of unbacked digital asset exchanges may submit documents for obtaining a license, while operators of trading platforms and digital financial asset platforms may undergo registration. All documents are submitted to the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The list of requirements is posted on the official website of the regulator.

The National Bank carries out licensing, regulation, and supervision of digital asset circulation and provider activities within Kazakhstan, excluding the International Financial Center “Astana” (IFC “Astana”). Regulation of digital financial assets, except for stablecoins, is entrusted to the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The IFC “Astana” continues to regulate organizations operating with digital assets under its own jurisdiction.

Source: National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan