Uzbekistan’s National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP) has issued a new directive that increases the monthly fees for crypto market participants in the country. The mandate was given on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
As per the official statement, the revised fee framework is an amendment to a directive initiated by the Ministry of Justice in September 2022.
This change follows the NAPP’s assessment of the “adequate profitability” within the cryptocurrency retail and exchange sectors, prompting the introduction of a new fee structure impacting both entities
Under the updated fee system, crypto exchanges face a monthly fee of 740 Basis Reference Value (BRV), equivalent to 251.6 million in Uzbekistan som(UZS) —the nation’s fiat currency— ($20,015), marking a substantial increase from the previous fee of 400 BRV or UZS 136 million ($10,819). The BRV is primarily used for calculating various financial transactions, including taxes, fees, and fines.
Screenshot of the official press release updating the crypto fee structure Source: National Legislative Database of the Republic of Uzbekistan
In contrast, crypto retailers now face a notably elevated fee of 185 BRV, totaling UZS62.9 million ($5,003). Previously, the fees for crypto retailers stood at just 20 BRV, approximately UZS6.8 million ($540) per month.
According to NAPP, the modifications are aimed to notably boost state revenue from the crypto sector. The agency anticipates the revenue generated from this sector to double once the new structure is in place.
The NAPP also guaranteed that the updated pricing structure would not harm the financial stability of industry service providers. The new structure is scheduled to take effect on June 20, three months after its official publication.
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The recent mandate follows closely after the NAPP’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with stablecoin issuer Tether.
Under this agreement, Tether will explore, promote, and advance blockchain-based innovations in Uzbekistan, including innovations like stablecoins and digital asset tokenization.
As of now, the partnership’s specific details are undisclosed. However, Tether has disclosed plans to collaborate with Uzbekistan’s regulators to establish a legal and regulatory framework for crypto assets in the country.
This development also follows the NAPP's plans to sue Binance a month ago. The agency alleges that Binance operates without a license and hasn't paid a fine. Only licensed exchanges are permitted in Uzbekistan, with trading servers mandated to be domestically hosted.
From 2023, the government of Uzbekistan has restricted the provision of crypto services to licensed cryptocurrency firms. The first licenses were granted to local crypto firms in November 2022.
Before that, Uzbekistan restricted access to a number of large international crypto exchanges, including Binance, FTX and Huobi, due to accusations of unlicensed activity.
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