Quoting the crypto industry association of Kazakhstan, local media reported that companies that provide trading services for digital currencies will now be able to open accounts with the banks in the country. Thanks to this service, citizens will be able to legally invest in cryptocurrencies and will have no trouble in cashing their profits. The announcement was made by the National Association of Blockchain and Data Center Industry in Kazakhstan. The banks in the country will be permitted to open accounts of all the crypto exchanges that are registered at the AIFC i.e. the Astana International Financial Center.
This move is part of a pilot project initiated with second-tier banks and will last for approximately a year. In order to trade on any of the exchanges, the potential crypto investor would have to have an account in the bank institution participating in the program. This would enable them to use fiat money for buying their preferred digital coins and they will also be able to carry out other operations on the crypto trading market in Kazakhstan. The income that the crypto investor will earn from profitable investments would be deposited back into their personal accounts.
The project will be used by the government in Nur-Sultan for conducting an assessment of the benefits and risks associated with digital assets. While cryptocurrencies are still not permitted for circulation in the Central Asian republic, the industry observers are hoping that some of the restrictions will be loosened or entirely lifted, if the project is completed successfully. According to experts, there are a number of reasons why the official policy regarding decentralized digital money may be revised. Sergey Putra, who is responsible for coordinating with the blockchain association of the government of Kazakhstan, said that the global crypto economy contributes a large volume of finance, with a daily turnover of billions of dollars.
He said that if Kazakhstan was to take even 1% of this total turnover, it would bring in a substantial amount of money to the country in the form of investments and it will stay here in the form of salaries, taxes, and jobs. He opined that it is a huge industry that Kazakhstan is missing out on. In the past few years, the company has attracted a number of crypto miners, particularly amidst the crypto mining crackdown occurring in China. With its generally positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies and low-cost energy, the country has become a popular crypto mining destination.
Currently, it is responsible for almost 6% to 8% of the global mining volume. If the local banking system were to process financial transactions for this growing industry, it would prove to be immensely beneficial. Most importantly, authorities are hoping that this project will also come in handy for preventing fraud in the crypto space because it will facilitate safe crypto exchanges for the residents. There has been an increase in the number of cases where people have been lured into fake investment schemes that result in the loss of fiat and crypto funds.
