Kazakh lawmakers are calling on the country to develop “crypto banks” to ease digital asset transactions.
Despite being a refuge for bloc reward mining, Kazakhstan has restricted digital asset activities to the economic economies of Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). However, according to Azat Peruaşev, who leads the minority AQ JOL party in the House of Representatives, investors trade on unregulated platforms outside of AIFC.
He claimed that 90% of the domestic digital asset activity takes place outside the scope of AIFC. This makes investors vulnerable to fraudsters, denying government surveillance and allowing illegal activities such as money laundering and tax evasion. Furthermore, investors will be traded on offshore platforms, leading to billions of tenge flowing out of the Kazakhstan economy.
Perushev believes that the best approach is “crypto banks” across the country. In a formal investigation into Prime Minister Ortzhas Bektenov, he proposed that the Kazakh central bank should lead the project, and that commercial banks would also take part.
“… An effective tool to regulate the industry could be the creation of Cryptobank, an institution that assumes the function of controlling, replacing and storing digital assets in the legal field,” he said.
He argued that such initiatives are successful in developed economies where digital assets are allowed to flourish, like the United States. He pointed to two digital asset-centric banks Anchorage Bank and Custodia Bank, which operate under the supervision of federal regulators. In Switzerland, Sygnum Bank and Seba Bank are also successful, he added.
“If you can’t resist something, there’s one solution, engagement and lead. In this case, that means legalization and regulation.”
However, Peruvian Chef’s proposal differs from the successes in the US and Switzerland, where “crypto” banks are private organisations. Lawmakers are proposing government initiatives led by the central bank. This is similar to the national digital asset exchange proposed in Russia last August, but has not yet been released.
Still, other lawmakers supported the proposal. MP Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva said the “crypto” bank will provide legal clarity to Kazakh investors while also calling on regulators “to better understand the nature and dynamics of the industry.”
The message from the two lawmakers resembles President Kasim Jomart Tokayev, who called for a new digital asset framework for digital asset traders in January “on an emergency basis.”
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