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One of the most talked-about topics in the cryptocurrency market in recent days is the legal regulations, which continue to attract attention. The Ministry of Culture and Information in Kazakhstan has officially confirmed that they have blocked the official website of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase operating in the country. Kazakhstani authorities have been blocking access to the Coinbase platform for local IPs since September.
The End of Coinbase’s Journey in Kazakhstan for Now
According to a news article dated November 7th by Kursiv, a local news organization in Kazakhstan, access to the website of the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been blocked by the Ministry of Culture and Information.
Representatives of the Ministry stated in a statement to journalists that this order came from the Digital Development Ministry, a different state institution that accuses Coinbase of violating the Cryptocurrency Assets Law. According to this decision, Coinbase now needs to apply for the necessary license to operate in Kazakhstan.
In Kazakhstan, the Cryptocurrency Assets Law, which came into effect in February 2023, prohibits the issuance of cryptocurrency assets, trading operations, and operation of cryptocurrency exchanges without a national license. Initial approval to operate in the cryptocurrency field is granted by the Astana International Finance Center (AIFC) authority, which is a special economic zone of Kazakhstan.
Remarkable Steps from the Kazakhstani Government
So far, Binance, Bybit, CaspianEx, Biteeu, ATAIX, Upbit, and Xignal&MT have been approved by the AIFC Financial Services Authority in the country. The first reports regarding access issues to the Coinbase website revealed that the major Kazakhstani investment firewall, as shared by the local Telegram media Finance kz in September, not only blocked access to Coinbase but also to Kraken and other major international cryptocurrency exchanges.
Kazakhstan has recently adopted a strict regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies, including the mining sector, which is one of the largest in the world. In October, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators signed an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, claiming that the cryptocurrency mining industry is in a very difficult situation due to high energy prices for crypto miners.
