Crypto: Kazakhstan Limits Crypto Trading To Central Bank-approved Coins
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed new laws creating licensed crypto exchanges and giving the central bank authority to approve tradable coins.
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed legislation establishing a framework to regulate digital assets, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
Tokayev signed the laws “On Banks and Banking Activities” and “On Amendments and Supplements to Certain Legislative Acts on the Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, Communications, and Bankruptcy,” according to a government statement.
The rules introduce a classification for digital assets, including stablecoins, assets backed by financial instruments and property, and financial instruments issued in electronic digital form.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will act as a key regulator of the sector, granting it authority to license exchanges, approve cryptocurrencies for circulation and set trading activity limits on regulated platforms.
The introduction of a new asset class, comprising three types of “digital financial assets” (DFAs), is a key component of the signed legislation.
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), the authority responsible for developing the laws, is assigned to establish requirements for the issuance, circulation and redemption of DFAs, excluding stablecoins.
New digital platform operators that serve as DFA issuers will be licensed by the central bank. DFAs will also be subject to requirements similar to those established for traditional financial instruments, including requirements for risk management, information disclosure and investor protection.
The law includes provisions covering cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), referred to as “unsecured digital assets.”
The legislation provides for the creation of cryptocurrency exchange organizations, whose activities will be licensed and regulated by the NBK.
Source: CoinTelegraph
