The National Bank of Kazakhstan and Binance Investments Co. have officially signed a memorandum of understanding, laying the foundation for the creation of a regional settlement hub for the Binance group in the republic. The signing ceremony was attended by National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, underscoring the strategic nature of the agreements. The document was also signed by Deputy Chairman of the regulator Binur Zhalenov and Binance Head of Regional Development Kirill Khomyakov.
The core of the project — international settlements
The new center will focus on servicing international payments and money transfers, covering settlements for transactions involving digital assets of clients of the global Binance group. The key geographic presence — countries of Central Asia, the CIS, and Eastern Europe. In essence, this is an attempt to connect the region's traditional payment infrastructure with the cryptocurrency sector, creating a bridge between two worlds of finance.
The possibility of implementing such a large-scale project in Kazakhstan became a reality thanks to legislative reforms in the sphere of digital asset circulation. The local central bank considers the emergence of a new financial market entity — a first-category payment organization — as a separate innovation. Binance became one of the first foreign players to begin operating under the updated regulation.
Within the framework of the project, it is planned to create a corresponding organization of the Binance group and the necessary infrastructure, as well as to obtain a National Bank license to operate as a first-category payment organization. The parties' intention is to transfer part of the group's regional operations to the republic and ensure servicing of a significant share of the region's clients through the Kazakhstani jurisdiction.
A strategic step toward integration
The regulator emphasizes that the implementation of the project will create conditions for attracting international technological expertise and unlocking the country's export potential in the sphere of digital financial services. This will strengthen Kazakhstan's position as a regional center for digital financial technologies.
This agreement continues a series of arrangements between Binance and Kazakhstani institutions. Previously, the exchange signed memorandums with the Ministry of Digital Development, the National Bank, and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), covering digital assets, payments, and investments. The new document develops payment infrastructure and cross-border services. The project also relies on the capital market development program until 2030, which provides for exchange self-regulation and simplified listing. In parallel, tax infrastructure is being built: the Binance Kazakhstan provider has already launched automatic tax calculation for digital asset transactions for the 2025 declaration.
Expert commentary: This step places Kazakhstan among the few jurisdictions where a global crypto exchange not only obtains a license but is integrated into the national payment system. For the market, this is a strong signal: the country seriously intends to compete for the status of a financial hub, rather than limit itself to the role of a "crypto offshore." The question now lies in the speed and quality of implementation — bureaucratic delays could negate the first-mover advantage.