Kazakhstan It has banned 980 unlicensed crypto exchanges by 2023.
In the year In 2023, the Financial Supervision Agency of Kazakhstan (FMA) banned nearly a thousand crypto exchanges serving the country's citizens without proper registration.
According to a press release published on the government's website on December 7, the FMA has banned access to 980 illegal platforms by 2023. It has also launched nine investigations into “illegal money exchange operations” and money laundering. This information was revealed by the Chairman of the FMA, Ruslan Ostromov, at the meeting of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering in China.
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The Digital Assets Law enacted in February 2023 prohibits the creation and trading of digital currencies unless national approval is obtained. The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), which operates as a special economic zone in Kazakhstan, is responsible for issuing initial licenses for operations.
The list of blocked unauthorized exchanges includes some major international platforms. In November, it was announced that citizens of Kazakhstan could not access the Coinbase website after an order from the Ministry of Culture and Information blocked it. Ministry representatives explained to reporters that the request came from a different government body, the Ministry of Digital Development, which accused Coinbase of violating the Digital Assets Act.
So far, Binance, Bybit, CaspianEx, Biteeu, ATAIX, Upbit and Xignal&MT are allowed to operate in the country.
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