PANews reported on January 8 that Kazakhstan's regulatory body AFM RK announced that authorities have blocked over 3,500 illegally operating cryptocurrency exchanges. This action is the result of a joint effort by the National Security Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Information. Previously, in 2023, authorities also blocked access to Coinbase on suspicion of violating digital asset laws.
In 2024, regulators liquidated 36 illegal cryptocurrency exchanges, with a total trading volume of 60 billion Kazakhstani tenge (approximately 113 million USD), and froze assets worth 4.8 million USDT. Additionally, authorities uncovered two cryptocurrency pyramid schemes, returning 545,000 USDT to victims and freezing 120,000 USDT held by the platform.
AFM stated that it is working with international partners to strengthen the regulation of cryptocurrency trading, combat its use in crime, and draft legal amendments to hold digital asset providers accountable for money laundering, with financial institutions also enhancing their scrutiny of cryptocurrency transactions.