Blockworks

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), has launched a pilot project allowing firms to pay regulatory fees using US dollar-pegged stablecoins.



<a href="https://aifc.kz/news/afsa-launches-pilot-project-to-accept-regulatory-fees-in-stablecoins/">Announced</a> on Thursday, during Astana Finance Days, the initiative introduces stablecoin settlement for license and supervision charges, and looks to position Kazakhstan as a regional hub for digital finance innovation.



The program operates under a multilateral memorandum of understanding, with Bybit as the first participant. AFSA noted that other firms can join the pilot if they meet eligibility requirements, and their participation will be disclosed on the regulator’s website. AFSA specified that only Digital Asset Service Providers licensed to offer money services in relation to digital assets or operate trading facilities can participate in the pilot as Providers. These entities act as agents, executing payments in stablecoins on behalf of firms and then remitting the equivalent amount in fiat currency to AFSA’s designated bank account.



“This initiative represents a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for payments in stablecoins in the region,” AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova said.&nbsp;



Bybit COO Mazurka Zeng added that the exchange is “proud to contribute to expanding the payment ecosystem at the beating heart of financial innovation in Kazakhstan, the AIFC.”



Kazakhstan has been gradually expanding its digital asset oversight. In January 2024, AFSA <a href="https://afsa.aifc.kz/astana-financial-services-authority-afsa-introduces-stablecoin-framework/">introduced</a> a Stablecoin Framework and later <a href="https://afsa.aifc.kz/afsa-grants-first-stablecoin-issuer-license/">issued</a> the country’s first fiat-backed stablecoin license to AnchorX.KZ Limited. At the national level, the government is also <a href="https://astanatimes.com/2025/08/national-bank-launches-regulatory-sandbox-for-digital-assets/">developing</a> a regulatory sandbox and is actively <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240117160300/https:/nationalbank.kz/file/download/97556">progressing</a> a digital tenge pilot, with the first retail transaction completed in November 2023 and full implementation planned by the end of 2025.



The pilot marks a practical step in shifting regulatory payments away from traditional bank transfers, which are often slow and costly, toward blockchain-based solutions that promise speed, efficiency and transparency. While the project remains experimental, it reflects Kazakhstan’s ambition to grow the AIFC into a hub for fintech and digital asset services, even as questions about risk, custody, and long-term regulatory harmonization remain.



Blockworks Research data shows that stablecoins remain the dominant onchain settlement instrument, with daily transfer volumes on Ethereum alone ranging between $30 billion and $70 billion and occasional spikes above $100 billion.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="889" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107266" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-44.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Daily transfer volumes on Ethereum | Source: <a href="https://blockworks.com/analytics/chain-comparison">Blockworks Research</a></figcaption></figure>



Despite recent slowdowns in decentralized exchange activity, stablecoin liquidity continues to climb, anchored on Ethereum but increasingly shifting toward Solana, which has grown from about $2 billion in late 2023 to more than $10 billion by mid-2025.



A Blockworks Research <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/unlocked/stablecoins-as-financial-superconductors">report</a> from Q1 2025 suggested that emerging issuers such as Ethena’s USDe are expanding quickly, while legacy decentralized options like Maker’s DAI have stagnated. That shift reflects rising demand for yield-linked or synthetic dollar exposure — a dynamic that could influence Kazakhstan’s stablecoin policy as it seeks to favorably position the Astana International Financial Centre.



Updated 9/05/2025 at 11:53 a.m. ET to include figures on stablecoins and transfer volume.



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This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jeffrey@blockworks.co" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Albus</a>&nbsp;before publication.



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Asia

Kazakhstan’s AFSA pilots stablecoin payments for regulatory fees

Sam Reynolds

<div id="highlights-block_61688f9fcde6d" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Kazakhstan’s government once encouraged bitcoin miners to set up shop in the country, but now it&#8217;s looking to put a cap on the industry’s growth</li>
 <li>The government has ordered the total power for electrical installations of consumers engaged in digital mining activities should not exceed 100 MW with each individual site limited to 1 MW </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



New data from the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/chinas-global-bitcoin-hash-power-slips-to-0-heres-why/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggests that Kazakhstan</a> is one of the new bitcoin mining hubs commanding approximately 18% of the global hashrate, up from 8% earlier this year. However, new policy coming down the legislative pipeline from the nation’s parliament might be putting an end to its growth story. 



As miners saw the writing on the wall of a looming mining ban in China in late 2020 and early 2021, many left for Kazakhstan. The country was well-capitalized to benefit from this, due to an excess of power, explained Kevin Zhang, vice president of business development at Foundry, a mining-focused Digital Currency Group subsidiary, with the government providing generous tax incentives and rebates to get miners departing China to relocate to Kazakhstan.  



“It was a play to put these dormant assets to use,” he told Blockworks. “At one time, Kazakhstan’s government was very welcome to bitcoin miners.”



However, as the industry flourished in-country and began generating some serious capital the government became less enthusiastic about its tax-free status. Earlier this year, the government announced amendments to Kazakhstan’s tax code, which means beginning in January 2022, crypto miners will have to pay an additional 0.23 cents per kWh.



But this was all before the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwrSV6u9Na0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">global energy shortage</a> threatened to put a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-27/europe-s-energy-crisis-is-about-to-go-global-as-gas-prices-soar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chokehold on the world economy</a>. Kazakhstan relies heavily on fossil fuels, which are set to be in high demand this winter given production challenges. As a result, the country is moving to put a hard ceiling on the bitcoin mining industry in the country. 



KEGOC, its state power utility, <a href="https://www.kegoc.kz/en/press-center/press-releases/155619/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> earlier this week that growth in power consumption is up 11.8% during the first nine months of the year, or approximately 1,500 MW — roughly the energy used by an entire province. Given that KEGOC says the country’s aging grid needs more frequent repairs, including to generating stations, the state utility says it’s implementing regional power restrictions to preserve capacity. 



Parliamentarians are also wary of the problem. <a href="https://legalacts.egov.kz/npa/view?id=11855023" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A bill enacted by the country’s legislature</a>, put forward by its Energy Minister, orders strict caps on the mining industry’s access to power limiting its total draw from the grid to 100 MW with each new installation capped at 1 MW. 



“You have a complete 180 flip in the approach to mining. It’s not being made illegal, they just want to limit it because it&#8217;s growing so fast,” Foundry’s Zhang explained. “Their grid is being strained. Not just from the bitcoin miner exodus from China, but with the global energy crisis that’s going on.”



While Kazakhstan is <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/democracy-the-tokayev-way/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nominally a democracy</a>, critics of its ruling party have called the president authoritarian. Transparency International<a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020/index/kaz#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> gives Kazakhstan a score of 38/100</a> on its transparency index (beneath China), ranking it as a “corrupt” country.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="450" height="450" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png" alt="" class="wp-image-9415" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=450 450w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=150 150w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=257 257w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=261 261w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=219 219w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shutterstock_1035684907.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /></figure></div>



Although there might be some advantages to setting up a mining operation in a jurisdiction like China or Kazakhstan at first, Zhang said, “The legal framework in a place in Kazakhstan can change very quickly. Just like in China, if the CCP doesn’t want mining, it can kick them out.”



Ultimately, Zhang said, this is an argument for setting up more mining capacity in North America. The continent has the rule of law, plus most mining activities would fall under state mandate in the US or provincial mandate in Canada, meaning there can’t be a federal sweep to eliminate the industry and jurisdictions can compete against each other for business.&nbsp;



“Think of it as 60 different republics each with their own stances on bitcoin mining,” he concluded.