The Astana Financial Services Authority published highlights from its participation in two Astana International Forum panel sessions hosted by the Astana International Financial Centre, including a digital assets session led by AFSA Chief Executive Officer Evgeniya Bogdanova. The release positioned the AIFC as a regulated ecosystem for digital asset activity in Kazakhstan and reported total trading volume of USD 1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Bogdanova linked the AIFC’s approach to the 2019 launch of the AIFC FinTech Sandbox and an experimental regulatory regime, followed by a 2022 joint pilot with national regulators for crypto-fiat gateways involving six cryptocurrency exchanges, eight banks and almost 50,000 users. The AIFC now hosts licensed crypto platforms including Binance, Bybit and Bitfinex. The digital assets discussion, featuring government, central bank and industry participants, covered the evolution from cryptocurrencies and tokens to central bank digital currencies, implications for monetary policy and the role of central banks, and the potential for blockchain-based services to streamline cross-border payments and settlements.

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