In a regional first, Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) will now allow companies to pay license and supervision fees using USD-pegged stablecoins, marking a significant shift in regulatory infrastructure toward digital assets.
The announcement was made Thursday during Astana Finance Days 2025, where AFSA formally launched the pilot project and signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding (MMoU) with centralized exchange Bybit, the first participant in the program.
AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova described the initiative as a breakthrough for the region, noting, “This represents a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for payments in stablecoins and signals our ambition to position AIFC as a hub for digital finance.”
Previously, firms operating in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) were limited to traditional fiat payments such as bank transfers in USD or Kazakhstani tenge, often resulting in delays and high transaction costs, especially for companies whose treasuries are primarily held in digital assets.
The new system permits payments in leading USD-pegged stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, providing a faster, cheaper, and more transparent alternative for regulatory compliance, according to Bybit.
Firms wishing to participate must meet AFSA’s eligibility requirements and sign the MMoU. Names of participating providers will be published on AFSA’s official website. Cointelegraph reached out to AFSA for details on eligibility but received no response by press time.
Industry leaders have praised the move. Jesse Knutson of Bitfinex Securities, which has operated in Kazakhstan since 2021, said the project “demonstrates how central stablecoins like USDt are to the development of tokenised financial markets.”
The development comes as Kazakhstan deepens its presence in the global crypto ecosystem. In recent months, BitGo helped launch Central Asia’s first spot Bitcoin ETF, and government officials have hinted at creating a state-backed crypto reserve.
With this pilot, Kazakhstan takes a firm step forward in integrating stablecoins into formal financial frameworks, setting the stage for further crypto adoption across the region.
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