TL;DR
- Kazakhstan’s central bank allocates $350M from its reserves to invest in cryptocurrency assets.
- Sovereign wealth funds and seized assets will also finance the national crypto reserve.
- Kazakhstan aims to establish itself as a Central Asian crypto hub through state-led investment and regulation.
Financial authorities in Kazakhstan allocated a portion of national gold and foreign currency reserves for cryptocurrency investment, according to an announcement from the country’s central bank. The National Investment Corporation (NIC), a subsidiary of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK), received $350 million to execute operations in crypto assets.
Aliya Moldabekova, NBK Deputy Governor, revealed the measure during the Annual Business Review forum. The central bank opened a special account at the Central Depository for the crypto reserve the country is creating. The official clarified that initially the NIC will avoid direct investments in crypto assets and will use hedge funds as the primary mechanism.
Five hedge funds have already been shortlisted to manage part of the capital, according to Moldabekova’s details. Additional investments will be channeled through participation in venture capital funds specialized in the crypto sector. The strategy seeks to reduce direct risk exposure while the country builds experience in the market.
National Fund Will Finance Additional Operations
Timur Suleimenov, NBK Chairman, confirmed that the NIC will also take control of crypto assets seized by security agencies. Kazakhstan’s National Fund, which collects revenues from the sale of oil and natural gas, will serve as an additional funding source for the investments.
The cryptocurrency reserve will form part of the overall sovereign reserves managed by the National Bank, Suleimenov explained. The fund will invest in crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and shares of companies involved in the crypto asset industry.
Authorities in Astana announced the creation of a crypto asset reserve in fall 2024. In November, the central bank revealed the reserve would reach up to one billion dollars. Part of the funds will come from government-seized coins and repatriated assets, Suleimenov detailed in an interview with Bloomberg.
The NBK Chairman informed local press that the bank was prepared to spend up to $300 million on crypto investments in the short term. The statement came after Berik Sholpankulov, another Deputy Governor, revealed that the monetary authority was considering investing part of gold and forex reserves in cryptocurrencies.
The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and crypto Development launched a fund backed by the local branch of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. The Alem Crypto Fund, managed by state-linked Qazaqstan Venture Group, made its first investment by purchasing BNB tokens.
In September 2025, Kazakhstan launched a stablecoin pegged to the tenge, its fiat currency. The crypto currency is based on the Solana blockchain and issued through the Intebix crypto exchange.
Kazakhstan attempts to establish itself as a crypto hub in Central Asia and the wider Eurasian region since it became a mining hotspot a few years ago. The government implements measures to regulate and liberalize its cryptocurrency market, permitting the circulation of crypto assets outside the special legal regime of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC).
Authorities lifted some restrictions on mining and legalized crypto investments. However, the government also intensified actions against unauthorized activities in the crypto space. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated this week that the state focuses on fighting capital flight through crypto asset transactions.
Government agencies shut down more than 130 unlicensed exchange offices with a combined turnover of $123 million. In early January, the regulatory body restricted access to more than 1,100 websites offering crypto services without authorization.
