Crypto protected areas: Head of the Central Bank of Kazakhstan

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The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has begun designing what could be the country’s first sovereign crypto assets reserve, indicating from fragmented digital asset supervision to comprehensive strategic portfolio management. In a written response to the parliamentary inquiry, NBK Chairman Timur Suleimenov confirmed that “work is underway in the development of its formation and management concept”, adding that one option under review is to provide reserves that have already processed alternative investments within NBK-controlled subsidiaries.

Kazakhstan builds crypto reserves

Suleimenov’s letters frame the reserve as a financial stability tool, rather than a speculative bet. “International practice shows that the resources reserved may include confiscated cryptocurrency, as well as cryptocurrency mined by cryptocurrency miners partially owned by governments,” he wrote.

Although Suleimenov’s language is cautious, the central bank’s house landscape is difficult. NBK “represents an institutionally reasonable approach,” based on transparent norms used by traditional sovereign wealth funds. The same communication highlights the need for centralized custody within the security state structure “to ensure the sustainability (security) of the national crypto-store”.

Turning a concept into a law will require parliamentary action. According to the NBK chief, amendments are needed to define the legal status of the reserve and the fixed deposit and revocation procedures. The draft language is already circulating, and NBK said it is “prepared to discuss relevant amendments with members of Congress.”

Kazakhstan’s ambivalence about cryptocurrencies

Legislation pushes against active cleanupThe grey cryptocurrency market in Kazakhstan. Since banning payments to unlicensed platforms in 2024, regulators have blocked 15,800 suspicious transactions worth about $3.07 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Suleimenov also marked an upcoming bill that would assume administrative and criminal liability for non-exchange transactions and curb digital asset advertising.

Even if NBK outlines reserves, its public news to retail investors remains skeptical. Earlier this month, Suleimenov warned that cryptocurrencies are “from a financial standpoint… not like deposits, you go to bank deposits, put in a year’s money and earn interest.” He argued that “people give the impression that this is some kind of wand,” which is a perception that “scammers and Ponzi schemes” exploited.

The central bank initiative today is based on the Ministry of Digital Development, which proposed in May a crypto protected area that could respond faster to changes in the global financial system (ING). The ministry has achieved a clear parallel to the National Fund, a stabilization tool supported by the country’s commodity, calling potential crypto-reserved reserves “a similar feature, but in a digital dimension.”

Policy momentum also reflects the pressure from legislators. Mazhilis member Olzhas Kuspekov recently proposed a fund within NBK that would seize crypto assets in criminal cases, although Lieutenant Governor Berik Sholpankulov opposes existing asset notes rules that have introduced such property into the budget.

Currently, Kazakhstan’s central bank is working with law enforcement and other state agencies to talk about what Suleimenov calls “specific mechanisms” of reserve construction, from custody construction to valuation and risk management agreements. The timetable has not been released and officials have not disclosed which digital assets may be eligible. It’s obvious that NBK wants its reserves (if created) to look less like speculative hangars, more like a buffer of an institution next to the country’s gold war box.

At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $107,645.

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