With the Kazakhstani crypto market reaching a global scale, the country’s banks are considering forming crypto-based bank accounts that will allow citizens to invest in bitcoin, sell cryptocurrency on the exchange market and transfer their income into money.
New Crypto Doors Open For Kazakhstan’s Citizens
According to the Kazakh Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry, local banks are on their way to become more crypto-friendly. As the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) starts collaborating and launches its pilot project with second-tier banks, clients will have the opportunity to officially and openly work in cryptocurrency.
This crypto exchange will allow customers to transfer money, buy cryptocurrencies, and interact with the market after opening an account with one of the banks registered with AIFC. In addition, the banks can also act as intermediaries if the customer wishes to convert crypto into fiat currencies.
The Government Relations Coordinator of the Kazakh Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry Sergey Putra, spoke on the matter, saying,
“The global premise is that crypto turnover is a fairly large volume of finance. It is billions of dollars of daily turnover around the world. And even if Kazakhstan takes a fraction of a percent, even one percent of this turnover, this is serious money that will come to Kazakhstan in the form of investments and that will remain here in the form of taxes, jobs, and salaries. This is a very large industry, which Kazakhstan is still bypassing.”
A Safe Crypto Haven
The year-long pilot program will help the Kazakh government assess the risk and benefits of digital currencies and may even lead to lifting the ban on digital currencies. However, it is worth noting that cases of fake crypto deals are pretty rampant in the country. In many cases, Kazakh investors have put their money in a dummy coin instead of real crypto and have been scammed out of their money. Therefore, the introduction of a safe crypto exchange is likely to channel the burgeoning interest in this new investment asset towards more legal routes.
China’s Loss, Kazakhstan’s Win
Experts believe that the drop in China’s share of global Bitcoin mining since September 2019 has contributed immensely to the spread and recognition of cryptocurrency in Kazakhstan. With China’s crypto regulations becoming stricter, its share dropped by almost 30% and is now less than half of the entire network’s capacity. As a result, more and more crypto mining operations have sprung up in Kazakhstan, the country’s mining capacity has grown six times. Kazakhstan has now become the third-largest producer of cryptocurrency in the world, with 6 – 8% of the world’s mining volume being concentrated in the country.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
