Kazakhstan Lures Crypto Traders with Tax Break, Stablecoin Payments

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree today that rewrites the rules for crypto in the country. The order gives retail traders an income-tax exemption on digital asset gains, as long as the trades go through licensed local services. It also clears the way for stablecoin-based cross-border settlements and lets miners burn associated petroleum gas to power their rigs.

The package was put together by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, the National Bank, and the Astana International Financial Centre. Vice Minister Gizzat Baitursynov said the goal is a predictable environment for everyone from miners to financial institutions. The decree is the legal backbone for a regulated digital asset market that Kazakhstan hopes will pull in foreign capital and give crypto firms clear operating rules.

A central piece is the cross-border settlement mechanism. Officials say using digital assets and stablecoins for payments could ease imports and exports, giving businesses a channel outside the conventional banking system. The government also wants to repatriate funds held offshore. Traders who keep crypto on unregistered foreign exchanges can declare those holdings voluntarily and move them to approved domestic providers.

To make that migration attractive, the state is dangling a personal income-tax exemption on income from digital asset transactions conducted through regulated infrastructure. “Income from digital asset transactions conducted through Kazakhstan’s regulated infrastructure is planned to be exempt from individual income tax,” the ministry said in comments reported by Kursiv.