Kazakhstan creates state fund for investment in cryptocurrencies
ASTANA. Sept 29 (Interfax) - A state fund for investments in digital assets has begun operating in Kazakhstan, the press service of the Kazakh Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Ministry said.
"The new crypto fund Alem Crypto Fund has started operating in Kazakhstan. It was created by the Kazakh Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Ministry under the management of Qazaqstan Venture Group and is registered in the ecosystem of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC)," the press service said.
The main goal of the fund is long-term investment in digital assets and the formation of crypto reserves. In the future, the Alem Crypto Fund could become a tool for placing state savings, the ministry said.
"Our goal is to make it [the Alem Crypto Fund] a reliable tool for major investors and an important foundation for digital state reserves," Deputy Prime Minister and Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Minister Zhaslan Madiyev was quoted as saying.
The fund's strategic partner is the company Binance Kazakhstan, licensed by the AIFC, which is part of the ecosystem of the world's largest digital asset operator, Binance. Together with Binance Kazakhstan, Alem Crypto Fund made its first investment by acquiring the BNB token - the main digital asset of the BNB Chain network.
Binance Kazakhstan is a company authorized by the AIFC financial regulator, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), to operate as a digital asset trading platform.
In September, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during his annual address to the nation, gave instructions to create a state digital asset fund, which would be engaged in forming reserves in cryptocurrencies.
"A state digital asset fund should be created on the basis of the National Bank's investment corporation, which will accumulate a strategic crypto reserve from the most promising assets of the new digital financial order," Tokayev said.
It was also reported that the National Bank of Kazakhstan is considering investing part of the gold and foreign exchange reserves and assets of the National Fund, where state revenues from oil and gas projects are accumulated, into cryptocurrency funds.
The AIFC is a territory with special tax, currency, and visa regimes in the Kazakh capital, created to attract investment into the economy. The regulatory framework for the placement of tokenized securities came into effect in the AIFC jurisdiction in 2024. As of October 2024, there were ten crypto exchanges operating in the financial center.
