Kazakhstan Blocks Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Exchange

In 2023, the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) of Kazakhstan obstructed access to nearly a thousand unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges that catered to Kazakhstani citizens.

The government website announced on December 7 that the FMA would deny access to 980 unauthorized platforms in 2023. Nine investigations were also initiated into “illegal exchange operations” and money laundering.

Ruslan Ostroumov, chairman of the FMA, disclosed this information during the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering in China meeting. The Digital Assets Law, which was implemented in February 2023, imposes a prohibition on the creation, trading, and cryptocurrency exchange activities without the acquisition of a national license.

It is the responsibility of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), which operates as a special economic zone in Kazakhstan, to issue preliminary sanctions for business activities. Blocked on the list of unlicensed exchanges are a number of significant international platforms.

Following a directive from the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Coinbase website became inaccessible to Kazakh citizens in November.

Representatives of the Ministry informed journalists that the request came from the Ministry of Digital Development, a non-governmental organization that filed charges against Coinbase for alleged violations of the Digital Assets Law.

As of now, authorization has been granted for Binance, Bybit, CaspianEx, Biteeu, ATAIX, Upbit, and Xignal&MT to operate within the nation.