Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a regional hub for digital-asset payments after the National Bank of Kazakhstan and Binance Investments Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on 7 September 2026.
The agreement sets out plans to jointly develop a regional settlement hub for the Binance group in Kazakhstan. The hub is intended to support international payments and money transfers, including settlements related to digital-asset transactions by Binance customers across Central Asia, the CIS and Eastern Europe.
According to the National Bank, the project has become possible following Kazakhstan’s recent legislative reforms covering the circulation of digital assets and the introduction of a new category of financial-market participant: a first-category payment organization.
Under the planned structure, Binance would establish an appropriate local organization and infrastructure in Kazakhstan and apply for a licence from the National Bank to operate as a first-category payment organization.
Kazakhstan seeks a larger role in digital finance
The project could allow part of Binance’s regional operations to be moved to Kazakhstan and enable a significant portion of customers in the surrounding region to be served through the country’s jurisdiction.
For Kazakhstan, the initiative is about more than cryptocurrency trading. The National Bank says the project could help attract international technology expertise, develop the country’s export potential in digital financial services and strengthen Kazakhstan’s position as a regional centre for digital financial technologies.
The agreement also illustrates how Kazakhstan is attempting to integrate digital assets into a regulated financial system rather than treating them solely as speculative investments.
For Binance, a regulated settlement and payments structure in Kazakhstan could provide infrastructure for serving customers across a much broader geographical area, particularly in Central Asia and neighbouring markets.
The memorandum itself does not mean that the proposed hub is already fully operational. A local Binance organization and the necessary infrastructure still have to be established, and the required payment-organization licence must be obtained from Kazakhstan’s National Bank.
If implemented, the project would give Kazakhstan a potentially important role in the emerging digital-finance infrastructure of Central Asia and could make the country a gateway for regulated crypto-related payments across the region.
Primary source: National Bank of Kazakhstan – Binance Investments Co. Memorandum, 7 September 2026