Cryptocurrency in Kazakhstan
Regulation is being revised. We check this page monthly, but before a large operation confirm with the primary source — something may have changed this week.
Where to buy and sell crypto legally in Kazakhstan
The law allows crypto to be bought, sold and exchanged only in the cases it lists itself ⚖️1. Two of them suit an ordinary buyer: a Kazakh provider with a National Bank permit, and an exchange or other AIFC provider with an AFSA licence. AIFC exchanges operate under the Centre's rules and AFSA supervision, while the other providers are overseen by the National Bank ⚖️2.
National Bank providers come in two kinds ⚖️. A crypto exchange service, called in the law an "operator for the exchange of unbacked digital assets", works under a licence and itself buys crypto from customers and sells it to them. A crypto exchange, called in the law a "trading platform operator", organizes trading between customers and goes through registration, meaning it is entered in the National Bank's registry3. The difference is roughly that between a currency exchange office, which sells you dollars itself, and a market where sellers and buyers find each other.
Crypto exchange services and AIFC exchanges accept and pay out customers' money through accounts in Kazakh commercial (second-tier) banks or with the National Postal Operator ⚖️1. So you buy crypto for tenge by a transfer from your own account. Limits on transactions with National Bank providers are set by the National Bank, and for ordinary customers of AIFC exchanges the AIFC rules set their own limits ⚖️4.
Can a resident of Kazakhstan buy crypto on a foreign exchange?
The law does not provide for this route ⚖️. A foreign exchange without an AFSA licence or a National Bank permit is not on the list of permitted cases1. In practice, this means that if such an exchange has a dispute with you, gets hacked or shuts down, you cannot count on the protection of Kazakh rules. A customer of an unlicensed platform has weak legal protection and a higher risk of fraud and of losing money5. Other consequences for the buyer depend on other laws as well, so ask a lawyer before a large transaction through a foreign exchange ⚖️.
How to check an exchange or exchange service in the registry
- Find the exact company name and licence number on the platform's website. The brand and the legal entity may have different names.
- For an AIFC exchange, open the AFSA public register, the section on digital asset service providers, and search for the company by name6. AFSA keeps no list of banned platforms, so a platform's absence from a "blacklist" proves nothing5.
- For a Kazakh provider outside the AIFC, open the National Bank's registries: the registry of unbacked digital asset exchange operators and the registry of trading platform operators78.
- Compare the licence number, issue date, status and permitted activities. The AFSA register shows all of these for every entry6.
- Open the website or app only at an address you typed yourself. Don't trust links from messages and ads.
How to compare platforms with each other is covered in how to choose an exchange, and the first purchase step by step in the guide how to buy crypto.
Taxes on crypto in Kazakhstan
Under the Tax Code in force since 1 January 2026, an individual's gain from selling crypto is property income, that is, income from selling one's own property ⚖️910.
The income is calculated as the positive difference between the sale price and the purchase cost, and how long you held the crypto does not affect it ⚖️11. If you bought crypto for 100,000 tenge and sold it for 130,000, the income is the difference of 30,000 tenge. If you paid more than you sold for, that sale produces no income. That is why you should keep your purchase statements: without them you have nothing to prove the purchase cost with.
Which operations create a tax in the first place and how to put together your trade history is explained in the guide how to handle crypto taxes.
How not to lose money when buying crypto in Kazakhstan
While the rules are changing, it is easy for a scammer to pose as a "licensed" exchange. So the permit is checked in the registry before any money is sent. Fraud schemes are covered in detail in the article on phishing and scams.
Crypto on an exchange is held by the exchange itself, and its problems (a hack, a shutdown, bankruptcy, a freeze on withdrawals) become yours. So people keep on an exchange only what they plan to trade or sell soon, and move what they hold for the long term to their own wallet (how to store crypto).
Legal status of crypto in Kazakhstan
The main law is "On Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan", in force since 1 April 2023 ⚖️2. The law defines a digital asset as property in electronic digital form and divides such assets into two kinds ⚖️. An everyday example makes the difference easy to grasp. A receipt gives you the right to receive something specific, such as money or an item you handed in. A digital financial asset is similar to such a receipt. Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies give no such right and are worth whatever people are willing to pay for them, so the law classes them as unbacked digital assets1.
The National Bank puts foreign stablecoins in the same group: digital dollars such as USDT and USDC issued by companies outside Kazakhstan ⚖️. Stablecoins issued under Kazakh rules are classed by the law as digital financial assets, and the company issuing them (the issuer) must be Kazakh2.
In Kazakhstan, unbacked digital assets are not recognized as a means of payment, a financial instrument or a financial asset ⚖️1. For you, this means crypto can be bought, held and sold as property, while money remains the legal means of payment.
In 2025–2026 Kazakhstan is reworking these rules, so every fact on this page carries a check date. Before a large transaction, compare it with the current wording of the law.
Crypto mining in Kazakhstan
Mining, that is, producing crypto on your own equipment, is permitted in Kazakhstan under a licence for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities of Kazakhstan ⚖️. Individuals without entrepreneur status are not on that list, so home mining by a private person does not fit the law's rules1. How mining differs from the work of validators on other networks is explained in the article on miners and validators.
Where to check the latest information
More detail on the laws, regulators and mining
The law on digital assets is No. 193-VII and was adopted on 6 February 20232.
Different government bodies are responsible for different parts of the market ⚖️.
| Who | Responsible for |
|---|---|
| National Bank | crypto exchange services and crypto exchanges outside the AIFC |
| AFSA | AIFC exchanges and providers |
| ARDFM | digital financial assets other than stablecoins |
| Ministry of AI and Digital Development | mining licences |
The roles are listed according to the National Bank's announcement of 30 April 2026 and its page on market regulation ⚖️32. ARDFM is the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market. The AIFC has its own law, so the Centre's exchanges work under its rules and AFSA supervision.
Law No. 231-VIII of 17 November 2025 restated the ban: organizing the circulation of digital assets is allowed only with a licence or permit issued under AIFC law or under the laws of Kazakhstan ⚖️12. Law No. 259-VIII of 16 January 2026 added separate rules for the circulation of unbacked digital assets, most of which have applied since 1 May 2026 ⚖️1. From that same date the National Bank has been accepting documents from crypto exchange services and exchanges operating outside the AIFC ⚖️3.
A miner works under a licence issued for three years ⚖️. Mining is done through an accredited mining pool, meaning one approved by the state, and the equipment is kept in a digital mining data centre. A pool combines the computing power of its participants and shares the output among them. The pool's own hardware must be physically located in Kazakhstan, and the crypto obtained from mining belongs to the miner1. The licence is issued by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development ⚖️2.
The current Tax Code was adopted on 18 July 2025 as No. 214-VIII9. Income from selling crypto is dealt with in its article 389, "Income from the increase in value of digital assets". There are separate provisions for miners. Income from digital mining is covered by articles 325–327, and the fee for digital mining by articles 657–661 ⚖️10.
