Kazakhstan’s updated banking law formally includes digital financial assets, bringing crypto and related technologies into mainstream financial regulation. The law defines digital assets such as stablecoins and tokenized assets as regulated financial instruments, subject to licensing and oversight. Licensed crypto exchanges and service providers will operate under standards similar to banks, including AML and investor protections. Regulators will even decide which cryptocurrencies people can actually trade, all to protect investors and keep the market honest.
Now, by bringing digital assets under regular banking laws, Kazakhstan is trying to get in step with international standards. The Financial Monitoring Agency, for example, is pushing to match its rules with the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations. That means crypto companies have to collect and share customer info under the “travel rule”. On top of that, Kazakhstan plans to launch a national crypto wallet registry for wallets tied to criminal activity, making oversight and anti-money laundering efforts a lot stronger.
The new rules are part of the Law on Banks and Banking Activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Parliament passed these changes in late December 2025. Once the president signs off and they publish the law, it’ll kick in. The standout change is that the law now recognises “digital financial assets” (DFAs) as their own legal category.
That covers a lot, stablecoins tied to regular money, tokenized assets backed by real stuff, and other electronic financial tools, as long as they’re issued by licensed digital platforms. Kazakhstan used to have a scattered way of handling cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Outside the AIFC, though, the rest of the financial system didn’t really connect digital assets with regular banking laws. Bank and licensed financial institutions can hold, issue, and handle digital financial assets, as long as they stick to the licensing and regulatory rules.
The goal is to give clear rules and real oversight for things like crypto trading, stablecoins, and digital finance in general. This shift tackles a big problem. Up until now, most crypto trading in Kazakhstan happened under the radar; about 90% of it, actually, ran outside official channels. That made it tough to regulate and even tougher to enforce the law.
By weaving digital assets into the system, the country is getting ready for what’s next, like the digital tenge (Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency). The goal is a single, unified set of rules where public and private digital assets can work side by side. So, people might soon be able to get crypto-related products from their regular bank, not just through niche platforms.
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