Binance Launches a Regulated Exchange in Kazakhstan 

• Binance secured a permanent license from Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) in October 2022.

• The new digital service platform will allow locals to access services such as deposit and withdrawal of fiat, exchange and conversion services, and crypto custody services. 

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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced the launch of a new regulated exchange in Kazakhstan. The launch comes amid what has been a turbulent few weeks for the leading crypto exchange.

Binance currently faces lawsuits in the United States and is the subject of a new investigation in France. The crypto trading platform has also had to withdraw its services from the Netherlands, Cyprus, and Canada.

However, Binance seems to have set its sights on expanding beyond the West with the launch of its new platform in Kazakhstan. Binance announced the launch at a press conference, which was attended by some of its officials in Kazakhstan as well as key leaders in the country’s financial sector.

The new platform will operate like regular crypto exchanges and provide several crypto- and fiat-focused services, including custody of crypto assets, exchange and conversion services, and fiat deposit and withdrawal services.

The Freedom Finance Bank in Kazakhstan will provide banking services to the new Binance-backed exchange, enabling customers of the digital asset exchange to transfer fiat to their accounts on the exchange. As of this report, bank transfers and bank cards supported by Freedom Finance Bank are the only available options for deposits and withdrawals at the new exchange.

Binance to aid Kazakhstan’s quest to develop its crypto community

 Zhaslan Madiyev, Binance Kazakhstan’s general manager, hailed the new launch as huge for both the exchange and Kazakhstan. He was quoted as saying in an interview,

Today we launched a local crypto exchange, Binance, in Kazakhstan, integrated with the bank channel. This is the first such project in the region. Binance Kazakhstan is going to adopt Binance’s best practices for their further deployment on a regional scale. In particular, we intend to develop the human capital of the country and the industry so that future specialists and experts in blockchain can create their own projects and products for the further development of the entire industry and its gradual introduction into the daily lives of citizens.

Sharing the next step of this project, Madiyev revealed that “by the end of the year we plan to significantly expand the product line for users of the local cryptocurrency exchange, as well as to have no less than 100 digital assets approved and available on the platform.”

Asset Turysov, Kazakhstan’s vice minister for digital development, innovation, and the aerospace industry, said that the government is rolling out a specific program to make it easier for the AIFC, cryptocurrency exchanges, and second-tier banks to collaborate and aid innovation. 

Several institutions are part of this project, including the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market.

Turysov added that Kazakhstan has made huge progress in its ambition to grow its crypto activities. He said,

Over the past year, regulators in Kazakhstan have taken significant steps toward the development of the cryptocurrency industry. Binance has provided assistance to Kazakhstan in the development of a legislative framework and a general policy for the regulation of crypto assets, as well as in the implementation of various educational initiatives, including for government and law enforcement agencies and regulators.

Binance received in-principle approval to operate in Kazakhstan last August. In October, it received a permanent license from Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) to operate as a digital service provider and offer custodial services.

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