BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. The volume of digital asset transactions conducted through licensed providers in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) increased 30-fold over a short period, Managing Director of the Authorization and FinTech Office of the AIFC Financial Services Regulatory Committee Yerkegali Yedenbayev said at a government meeting.
This was announced by the government's press service.
Yedenbayev noted that currently, 35 digital asset service providers operate in the AIFC, including 11 digital asset exchanges, among them Binance and Bybit, as well as 16 investment service providers and eight payment organizations, including three stablecoin issuers.
"If the volume of transactions in the licensed environment amounted to $320 million in 2023, last year this figure stood at $10.5 billion. In the first half of this year, transaction volume reached $5.5 billion. Thus, over a short period of time, the regulated market grew 30-fold. The customer base has also expanded significantly: while the number of customers stood at 53,000 in 2023, today it has reached 270,000, representing a 400% increase. This indicates growing customer confidence in the regulated environment," Yedenbayev said.
He noted that work to improve the regulatory framework is continuing as part of the implementation of the decree of the President of Kazakhstan on measures to promote and develop the digital asset industry.
Key priorities include recognizing AIFC digital assets within Kazakhstan's national jurisdiction and expanding the use of stablecoins. In particular, their use in international trade is being considered, which could speed up payments and reduce operating costs. These measures are expected to contribute to further development of Kazakhstan's digital asset market.
Yedenbayev also reported on the development of real-world asset tokenization in the AIFC. A special regulatory regime for such projects has been in place in the AIFC since 2024. In 2026, Commodity Chain became the first platform in Central Asia to receive a license to operate with tokenized assets in the agricultural sector. Its launch is scheduled for the end of 2026.
Another area of development is the issuance of tokenized securities. More than $300 million has already been raised through the Bitfinex Securities platform. The AIFC expects such instruments to help attract additional capital and expand investment opportunities.
The AIFC is also exploring the use of stablecoins pegged to foreign currencies for international payments and transfers. This could speed up settlements and reduce business costs.
