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The government of Kazakhstan has approved guidelines for a pilot program that will foster cooperation between some banking institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges in the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC).
Crypto Exchange to Open Bank Accounts
According to the official announcement, second-tier Kazakhstani banks now have the green light to offer bank accounts and other financial services to crypto trading platforms licensed by the country’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission (AFSA).
The guidelines, which will govern the pilot program, were formulated by a special working group that consists of representatives from several government agencies. These include the country’s central bank, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry, the Agency for Financial Monitoring, Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), and the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, among others.
The experiment will be conducted throughout the rest of the year, and a successful outcome will allow the country to change existing rules and create a robust regulatory framework for its domestic crypto industry.
The decision to allow crypto exchanges to access banking services has been in the works since mid-2021. At the time, CryptoPotato reported that the program would run for a year and would allow the Kazakhstani government to access the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies.
Exploring Other Areas of Crypto
The collaboration between banks and digital asset trading platforms is part of the country’s effort to explore other aspects of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry outside the mining sector.
“The cryptocurrency industry is not only mining but also includes cryptocurrency, digital currency, digital wallets, and other blockchain technologies. This is an industry that, like other industries, can work for the good of the country and benefit our economy,” said Bagdat Musin, Minister of Digital Development.
Since Kazakhstan already supports cryptocurrency mining activities, Musin noted that the country needs to generate revenue from the trades made from mined crypto assets. According to him, this will help the nation move to the next level of financial technology development.
