Kazakhstan’s AFSA To Undertake Stablecoins for Regulatory Charges

Kazakhstan’s monetary regulators have allowed license and supervision charges to be paid in USD-pegged stablecoins.

Kazakhstan’s Astana Monetary Providers Authority (AFSA), a delegated monetary authority for the Astana Worldwide Monetary Centre (AIFC), has launched a mission enabling AIFC members to pay regulatory charges in USD-pegged stablecoins.

The regulator introduced on Thursday that the mission was formally launched on the native occasion Astana Finance Days 2025, signing a associated multilateral memorandum of understanding (MMoU) with the centralized crypto trade (CEX) Bybit.

“This initiative represents a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for funds in stablecoins within the area, signaling Kazakhstan’s ambition to place the AIFC as a hub for digital finance […],” AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova mentioned.

Changing fiat-only funds

At present, firms pay regulatory charges primarily by means of conventional strategies comparable to financial institution transfers and wire funds in fiat currencies such because the US greenback and the Kazakhstani tenge, a spokesperson for Bybit informed Cointelegraph.

“These strategies are practical however usually contain delays, excessive transaction prices and restricted flexibility, particularly for companies whose major treasury is held in digital belongings,” the consultant mentioned.

With stablecoins like Tether USDt (USDT) or Circle’s USDC (USDC), the events are supplied with a quick, cost-efficient, and clear fee possibility, the Bybit spokesperson famous.

Participation is topic to eligibility standards

Based on the official assertion from the AFSA, the mission’s participation requires signing an MMoU, topic to assembly the authority’s eligibility standards.

Bybit turned the inaugural signatory of the MMoU, which was signed throughout Astana Finance Days 2025 by AFSA’s Bogdanova and Bybit CEO Mazurka Zeng.

The names of the suppliers taking part within the new mission will probably be printed on the official AFSA web site after signing an MMoU, the regulator mentioned.

Cointelegraph approached the AFSA for remark relating to the mission particulars, together with eligibility standards, however had not obtained a response on the time of publication.

Associated: ECB president calls to deal with dangers from non-EU stablecoins

The information got here amid crypto gaining momentum in Kazakhstan, with the US-regulated crypto custodian BitGo helping the launch of Central Asia’s first spot Bitcoin ETF by the native firm Fonte Capital in August.

Kazakhstan has emerged as a serious participant within the crypto business, together with cryptocurrency mining. In June, native authorities additionally reported learning the idea of a state-run crypto reserve, doubtless funded by digital belongings mined or seized by the federal government.