Binance to Help Azerbaijan With Crypto Regulations

December 18, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Kazakhstan central bank recommends a phased CBDC rollout between 2023-25

December 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Kazakhstan’s central bank recommended making the in-house CBDC available as early as 2023 with a phased expansion of functionality and introduction into commercial operation until the end of 2025.

Kazakhstan, the world’s third-largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hub after the United States and China, found feasibility in launching its in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital tenge. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) revealed the finding following the completion of the second phase of testing.

In late October, Binance CEO Changpeng' CZ' Zhao announced that Kazakhstan's CBDC would be integrated with BNB Chain, a blockchain built by the crypto exchange. The country's primary motivation for conducting studies on CBDC was to test its potential to improve financial inclusion, promote competition and innovation in the payments industry and increase the nation's global competitiveness.

The pilot research focused on offline payments and programmability recommended the inclusion of market participants and infrastructure players for different scenarios and proposed clarifying language to be used by the country’s regulators. The latest research paper cemented Kazakhstan’s intent to roll out the digital tenge. A rough translation of the report reads:

“Taking into account the need for technological improvements, infrastructure preparation, development of an operating model and a regulatory framework, it is recommended to ensure a phased implementation over three years.”

Kazakhstan’s central bank recommended making the in-house CBDC available as early as 2023 with a phased expansion of functionality and introduction into commercial operation until the end of 2025.

As many Russians crossed the border into the neighboring borders amid war-related uncertainties, Kazakhstan announced to legalize a mechanism for converting cryptocurrencies to cash.

“We are ready to go further. If this financial instrument shows its further relevance and security, it will certainly receive full legal recognition,” said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev while speaking at the international forum Digital Bridge 2022.

As Cointelegraph reported, the neighboring country of Georgia has also been moving to introduce new crypto regulations to become a global crypto hub.

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October 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Asia

Officials in Kazakhstan continue their close relationship with Binance, as the National Bank plans to integrate its CBDC on the BNB Chain.

In an announcement on Twitter, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, said the network will be a major component of Kazakhstan’s latest Web3 endeavor.

The Binance founder tweeted that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will integrate its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, on the BNB Chain, the underlying blockchain of the Binance network.

National Bank of Kazakhstan (NKB) will integrate their CBDC on @BNBchain. #BNB https://t.co/33WMKwAczm
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 27, 2022

The NBK launched a CBDC pilot which included the participation of local merchants and consumers. Zhao said he looks forward to the bank further developing use cases to “bridge the gap between traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem.”

This development is one of many in the network’s effort to push crypto adoption, particularly in Kazakhstan. Back in August of this year, Binance was given its in-principle approval to operate as a digital asset service provider in Kazakhstan.

Less than a month later, on Oct. 6, the Kazakh Financial Services Authority granted Binance a permanent license to offer digital asset services and provide custody services. It was around this time that Binance also signed a memorandum of understanding with local authorities in an effort to help fight financial crime.

The Binance ecosystem, including its founder, has been vocal about its mission to push crypto adoption around the world. Recently it has engaged in crypto-related activities in Ukraine by hosting an NFT collection of a local museum at risk due to the conflict, along with opening two new offices in Brazil, one of Latin America’s major crypto hubs.

Kazakhstan’s CBDC pilot program is among the country’s recent activities in the crypto space.

On Sept. 28, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Kazakhstan is inching closer to legalizing methods to convert cryptocurrencies to cash, along with full legal recognition. This statement came after the country introduced new crypto mining tax regulations over the summer.

Recent data on global crypto mining revealed that Kazakhstan is among the world’s top three destinations for Bitcoin (BTC) mining, after the United States and China.

Kazakhstan among top 3 Bitcoin mining destinations after US and China

October 23, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Asia

The top three countries contributing to the Bitcoin hash rate continue to eat away the share of other players, such as Malaysia, Germany and Iran.

For over a year, the oil-rich Central Asian country of Kazakhstan has maintained its position as the third-biggest contributor to Bitcoin (BTC) mining after surpassing Russia back in February 2021.

As of January 2022, Kazakhstan contributed to 13.22% of the total Bitcoin hash rate, positioned right after the historical leaders the United States (37.84%) and China (21.11%), as shown below.

Along similar timelines, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance data estimated that Kazakhstan’s absolute hash rate contribution (monthly average) was 24.8 exahashes per second (Eh/s). Meanwhile, the US and China contributed 71 Eh/s and 39.6 Eh/s, respectively.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which is co-funded by the European Union, highlighted Kazakhstan’s heavy reliance on non-renewable energy, such as oil (over 50%), coal (28%) and natural gas (17%) until 2020. The study revealed:

Most coal is used for electricity and heat generation, while most oil is used by final consumers, particularly in road transport.

However, the top three countries contributing to the Bitcoin hash rate continue to eat away the share of other players, such as Malaysia, Germany and Iran. Kazakhstan was among the first to welcome the displaced Chinese miners when the Chinese government imposed a blanket ban on Bitcoin and crypto mining and trading.

China resumed mining operations in September 2022, but the temporary mining ban stripped the country’s position as the biggest Bitcoin mining hub, placing the US at the top ever since.

Local reports from Kazakhstan highlighted the country’s intent to legalize a mechanism for converting cryptocurrencies to fiat.

Speaking at the international forum Digital Bridge 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shared his vision to make Kazakhstan a leader in the field of digital technology, cryptocurrency ecosystem and regulated mining.

“We are ready to go further. If this financial instrument shows its further relevance and security, it will certainly receive full legal recognition,” Tokayev stated.

Kazakhstan

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