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Kazakhstan has proposed the concept of cryptocurrency market regulation

The Astana international Financial Center (AIFC), which has a special legal regime, has developed and approved the Concept of regulation of the market of virtual currencies and private placement of securities.
On May 25, Astana international Financial Center (AIFC) Committee for financial services regulation (Astana International Financial Authority, AFSA) published a consultation paper for the open discussion of the proposed amendments to the AIFC regulatory acts on regulation of virtual currencies and expanded private placement regimes. It is planned that the open discussion, which will last until June 25, will be attended by financial institutions, second-tier banks, law companies, professional associations, FINTECH companies, as well as private investors and other stakeholders.
The authors of the document refer to the rapid development the Distributed Ledger Technologies (“DLT”), which significantly affect the world financial markets. Thus, the significant growth of the digital asset market (including virtual currency markets) necessitates the development and compliance with regulatory standards.
It is proposed to introduce about ten different modes of private placement of tokenized securities, depending on the amount involved, the category of investors, types of shares.
AFSA also in its document proposes the development of a single Glossary of definitions and classifications of types of virtual currencies, based on different business models and features of their functioning. In addition, the document provides definitions of key terms used in the process of issuance, storage and circulation of virtual currencies. In particular, such concepts as "smart contract", "digital wallets", and “mining are introduced. The Committee relied on the definitions presented in the report of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "Virtual currencies: key definitions and potential AML\CFT risks" and legislation of the United States, Japan and the Philippines.
It is also proposed to regulate the activities of the platforms involved in the trade of virtual currencies by the AIFC Law. Thus, the operator of the virtual currency business must obtain a license, proving its competence within the framework of the AIFC legal acts.
In addition, the authors of the document believe that the ban on virtual currencies may have a negative impact on the level of regional and global threat of AML / CFT, as it can drive virtual currencies into the shadow economy, where they will continue to operate without proper supervision by the AML / CFT authorities. The proposed draft law includes the introduction of full obligations to report to the financial monitoring Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan on suspicious transactions and to conduct procedures for customer identification, monitoring of transactions and determining the sources of funds.
On June 8 in Astana, AFSA will present AIFC draft legislation within the framework of the international conference "Blockchain Regulation: Opportunities and Risks". This conference will also include expert reports of foreign speakers, analysis of private examples in different countries, master classes for civil servants and round tables with the participation of high-ranking officials and leading consulting companies in the field of blockchain.
Recall, in late March, the national Bank of Kazakhstan announced its intention to ban the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies for tenge, the activity of exchanges in this segment, as well as any types of mining.