Kazakhstan is a new member of the fan club, Cryptocurrencies! This nation in Central Asia is seeking to legalize virtual currencies. The President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is going all out, to ensure that this happens as soon as possible. After all, he is eager to establish his country as a ‘king’ in digital technologies. If you are having a hard time with Bitcoin, this is an easy guide for BTM users.
Kazakhstan’s Bonding with Cryptocurrencies
The keenness to gain a strong foothold in the world of virtual currencies is not new. In fact, it had begun years ago. Way back in 2020, during the ongoing pandemic, the Government had expressed a wish to attract investors. It had hoped to lure crypto enthusiasts to invest approximately $1 billion in digital currencies.
After all, the investment and trading website, gave a very transparent display of every coin/token, with all the relevant details for each. Interested, potential investors could peruse these web pages.
After making its declaration, the country displayed further proof of its intention to bond with virtual currencies. Towards this end, it offered a warm welcome to digital currency service providers. Several of Kazakhstan’s neighbors had refused to exhibit the same willingness.
Like every other nation, Kazakhstan has its favorites. Furthermore, it is aware that one must begin with the top names in the business, to make a good impact on the rest of the world. Therefore, it has been waiting to grant approvals to key stakeholders (Binance, Bitcoin, etc.) in the crypto industry. They should be able to gain licenses to operate in Kazakhstan, very easily. Thus, the nation is striving to fulfil its objective of become a global crypto hub, in future.
Kazakhstan’s Plans and Strategies
May 2022 was a great month for Kazakhstan. The President entered into an agreement with Binance cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao. They affixed their respective signatures to an MoU, or Memorandum of Understanding. True, the Memorandum listed out several joint ventures to be undertaken by both parties. However, the major focus remained on Binance helping to develop Kazakhstan’s digital economy.
Similarly, Kazakhstan has an agreement with the CBDC project. CBDC refers to Central Bank Digital Currency. The public consultation regarding the e-currency project was launched in May 2022. To sum up, the Kazakhstan Government is directly connected with the private issuance of digital currencies, the broader ecosystem linked to them, and investing heavily into the CBDC program.
The local media has always been keeping a vigilant eye on what is happening in the country. Therefore, Informburo had something interesting to report. Kazakhstan’s Government is setting up a platform for assisting in the conversion of digital currencies to fiat currencies. The platform for this project is AIFC. It refers to the Astana International Financial Center.
The AIFC has a Glorious, Global Reputation
AIFC has a pivotal role to play on the international scene. It is extremely well-known for the services it offers in the finance and business arenas. Thanks to its intelligent strategies, it has brought about a connection between diverse economies in various parts of the world.
Nations that bond with AIFC, include the Middle East, Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus, Europe, West China, and EAEU. EA stands for Eurasian, E for Economic, and U for Union.
The EAEU members, are Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan. These nations are located across Eastern Europe, North Asia, and Central Asia. All these areas are categorized as free trade zones.
AIFC’s Project in Kazakhstan
Of course, AIFC’s pilot project in Kazakhstan is already underway, and conversion of digital currencies is taking place. However, the Government did have to opt for innovative measures, even to set the pilot program in motion. These measures involved making changes to the regulatory environment, and national legislation.
The AIFC project will enable the nation’s hold on the crypto world to become stronger. Additionally, it also hopes to highlight its efforts in the virtual currency mining ecosystem.
The Government, especially President Tokayev, is observing everything very carefully. It could be that the pilot program highlights a need for better security measures. It could be that it proves greatly successful. In such a scenario, the Kazakhstan authorities would go all out to award the project, complete legal recognition. The President gave this assurance at Digital Bridge 2022. This event refers to an international technology forum.
