The Kazakh authorities have granted Binance a license to operate as a digital asset platform and offer a suite of related services. Working from the country’s financial hub in the capital city of Nursultan, the crypto exchange will also offer registration to customers from other countries.
Crypto exchange Binance receives operating license from Kazakhstan
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance, a global leader in daily trading volume, has been granted a permanent license by the Astana Financial Services Agency (AFSA), the regulatory body overseeing Kazakhstan’s financial hub, the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC).
The license will allow Binance to expand its services as a digital asset platform operator and to operate from the AIFC as a custody service provider for global clients. The financial center is based in the capital of Kazakhstan, Nursultan (formerly Astana).
The move comes after Binance received preliminary authorization in August. The permanent authorization gives it regulated platform status in Kazakhstan, the exchange explained. Compliance and security controls will allow it to process deposits and withdrawals of fiat money, convert it to cryptocurrency, and provide storage and exchange transactions for crypto assets.
The exchange indicated that it plans to expand the range of services it supports. Individuals and legal entities from other countries can register on the Kazakhstan-licensed trading platform, Binance assured in the announcement. Its Director for Asia, Gleb Kostarev, commented:
We welcome Kazakhstan’s intention to become a major player in the field of new digital technologies and the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The Nursultan government has made significant changes to Kazakhstan’s legal and regulatory environment, setting the highest compliance standards for cryptocurrency platforms in the republic, the executive added.
Costalev noted that the strong regulatory framework has made AIFC the leading platform in the region and facilitated the development of services for digital assets. He also emphasized that Binance is taking new steps toward becoming a compliance-oriented exchange.
Binance will support Kazakhstan in what both parties described as the secure development of the Kazakhstan crypto market. As part of a recently signed memorandum of understanding, the crypto exchange and the financial watchdog of the Central Asian state agreed to share information on financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies.
Kazakhstan, which has become a major crypto mining hotspot following a crackdown in China, is also taking steps to regulate other sectors of the digital assets industry. Local lenders and domestic crypto exchanges Eurasia Bank and Intebix recently reported on crypto purchase deals for their customers – the first such joint effort in the country, they said.
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