Pax Finance can trade, store and swap crypto for fiat nationwide, extending regulated activity beyond the Astana International Financial Center as authorities tighten enforcement against illegal venues.
Kazakhstan has issued its first license for crypto exchange operations under its updated digital asset legislation, opening regulated trading beyond the Astana International Financial Center. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) granted the permit to Pax Finance, an Astana-based company established on May 20, allowing it to trade, store and swap digital currencies for fiat, open branches and install Bitcoin ATMs across the country. The central bank said the licensing regime for industry participants took effect on May 1, 2026, and crypto firms must also register with the monetary authority to operate legally. The move marks a shift from Kazakhstan’s earlier approach, which had confined legal crypto trading to AIFC-based platforms after the country emerged as a mining destination following China’s ban on the activity. Although the law “On Digital Assets” came into force in 2023, crypto transactions remained limited and much of the market continued to operate through peer-to-peer trading, unregistered exchanges or offshore platforms. Amendments adopted in early May and additional NBK bylaws later that month were designed to bring those flows into a broader regulated framework. Pax Finance’s founders include Arman Batayev, owner of the Finmentor.kz Telegram channel and a former employee of EY and AIFC, and Azat Bekmagambetov, described as one of the earliest members of Kazakhstan’s crypto industry and a founder of Central Asia’s first Web3 accelerator for crypto and blockchain startups. The license comes as authorities continue a crackdown on illegal trading activity. Local media previously reported that law enforcement agencies had shut down around 130 illegal venues by the start of 2026, covering a combined $127 million in digital-money transactions, while officials also said they had seized more than $5 million in property. The policy shift also coincides with broader efforts to curb capital flight and develop Kazakhstan as a regional crypto hub, including plans that would let users spend crypto through cards with instant conversion to fiat while keeping the tenge as the only legal tender.