Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will support the Kazakhstan government in its efforts to regulate the country’s crypto space. The global coin trading platform will also help integrate the country’s banking system with the growing digital asset market.
Kazakhstan will cooperate with Binance in the development of its crypto sector
Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange by transaction volume, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry. The leading crypto platform and the ministry will cooperate in the crypto space.
The MOU was signed during Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s visit to the Central Asian nation, crypto news outlet Forklog revealed, citing the company. In Kazakhstan, Zhao met with high-ranking government officials, including the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Bagdat Musin and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
According to them, Binance will advise the country on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The document also details that the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the exchange will seek solutions to enable the integration of Kazakhstan’s banking infrastructure and crypto markets.
In addition, Binance and the ministry have agreed to join hands in supporting the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), a financial hub in the capital Nursultan (formerly Astana). The two sides discussed the possibility of establishing a venture fund focused on blockchain and an academy “to help local talent in the Astana hub reach a world-class level,” Musin said.
Kazakhstan wants AIFC to become the home of a regulated cryptocurrency exchange. Last summer, the country’s National Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industries announced that commercial banks in the country would be allowed to open accounts on crypto trading platforms registered with the hub as part of a pilot project.
Kazakhstan has become a major mining hotspot after China cracked down on the crypto mining industry last spring, but the influx of miners has been blamed for a growing power shortage. To address the problem, the government plans to introduce differentiated tax rates based on the cost of electrical energy consumed. The necessary tax law amendments were approved this week at the first reading in Mazhili, the lower house of parliament.
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