Kazakhstan’s financial institutions and coin trading platforms have teamed up to execute the country’s first such joint transaction to acquire cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s leaders declared their readiness to further develop crypto exchanges in the country’s financial hubs.
First banking with crypto assets, opening the door for legal coin purchases in Kazakhstan
Almaty-based Eurasia Bank and Kazakhstan’s crypto exchange Intebix report that they have conducted what they announced as the country’s first crypto-related transaction involving digital asset trading platforms, banking institutions, and customers. The deal was announced at the Digital Bridge 2022 forum, where cryptocurrency was acquired at a local fiat.
“This precedent allows people in Kazakhstan to legally purchase cryptocurrency in tenge, while Eurasia Bank’s unique solution allowed us to set the lowest fees in the world for such transactions.”
and the bank stated in a press release that Talgat Dosanov, director of Intebix Exchange, went even further, claiming:
this is the first cryptocurrency exchange-bank-client transaction in the entire Eurasian continent.
In May of this year, regulators approved a pilot regulation allowing crypto transactions in Kazakhstan under certain conditions. In order to participate in the project, crypto exchanges must be licensed and banks must comply with the adopted regulations. The government claims that the framework meets international standards in terms of transaction monitoring and security.
The process of buying crypto in Kazakhstan’s Tenge was demonstrated to the country’s head of state, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who said that if the trial is successful, the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), the Central Asian country’s financial hub, will be the place where crypto administration that it is ready to support further development of the project to facilitate asset exchange.
Kazakhstan intends to become a major player in the field of new digital technologies, cryptocurrency ecosystem and regulated digital mining, Tokayev stressed.” He was quoted as saying, “If this financial instrument shows further demand and security, it will certainly receive full legal approval.
The pilot project at AIFC was launched this summer when registered crypto exchanges were allowed to open accounts at domestic banks: two trading platforms, Intebix (operating in the EU and Australia under the Biteeu brand) and Ataix Eurasia and Halyk Bank, Altyn Bank, and Eurasian Bank are participating in the test. The pilot is expected to run until the end of 2022.
Eurasian Bank also announced plans to issue cryptocards this year. It will be linked to Intebix wallets and will allow holders to pay in tenge while using digital coins. The bank is currently working out the details with the National Bank of Kazakhstan. Eurasia Bank ranks seventh among Kazakhstan’s banks in terms of assets and is a leader in the retail banking market.
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