Kazakhstan’s banks receive green light for crypto trading

Kazakhstani banks authorized to trade and hold digital assets / Photo: Shutterstock, photo editor: Serikzhan Kovlanbayev

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market and the National Bank have approved new rules allowing banks with universal licenses, as well as Islamic banks, to operate with digital financial assets.

Three categories of digital assets

Under the regulations, banks may conduct transactions involving three types of digital financial assets:

Stablecoins, or digital assets backed by fiat currency. Digital financial assets backed by securities, including Islamic securities. Financial instruments issued in electronic form on platforms operated by licensed digital financial asset providers.

Limits for Islamic banks

Islamic banks and branches of nonresident Islamic banks may participate in such transactions only in accordance with Islamic banking principles and the requirements of Article 35 of the Law on Banks, which mandates a guarantee of return.

Stablecoin and platform requirements

Banks working with stablecoins must comply with open currency position limits set by the authorized regulator. All transactions involving digital financial assets must be conducted through digital platforms operated by licensed digital financial asset operators or digital asset trading platform operators.

Restrictions on self-financing

The rules prohibit banks from purchasing their own digital financial instruments or those issued by their subsidiaries. Banks are also barred from directly or indirectly using digital financial assets to finance their own operations.