Kazakhstani authorities have shut down an illegal digital asset trading platform and seized over $350,000. It is alleged that the exchange processed nearly $34 million in transactions through Binance wallets, two of which have been blocked during the ongoing investigation.
Unlicensed Crypto Exchange Making Millions in Turnover Shut Down in Kazakhstan
ABS Change, a cryptocurrency trading platform operating without a license in Kazakhstan, has been identified and taken down, Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) reported on Telegram. Three Kazakhstani citizens have been charged for running the exchange since 2021.
During a raid in the nation’s capital, law enforcement officials confiscated $342,000 and 7 million tenge (around $16,000) in cash. The entity had an additional $23,000 worth of crypto assets in two wallets on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, which have been temporarily blocked, the statement revealed.
As per the FMA, ABS Change transferred a total of $34 million through Binance. The watchdog stated that its activities were conducted outside the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). Only exchanges that are residents of the financial hub are allowed to provide crypto trading services in the Central Asian nation.
The FMA’s main aim has been to prevent “gray” business activities, including those in the crypto sector, and the agency said that Kazakhstan’s shadow economy shrank to less than 20% last year. In January, the regulator took down several coin trading websites. In February, it seized nearly $188,000 worth of property, including digital assets, from a Russian national involved in these illegal operations.
After China’s crackdown on the industry, Kazakhstan attracted many cryptocurrency miners with its affordable electricity, but they have been blamed for an escalating power deficit. Since the expansion of the sector, the government in Nur-Sultan has been taking steps to regulate it and the country’s growing crypto economy as a whole.
A law restricting the access of mining farms to low-cost power was enforced in Kazakhstan in February. The legislation introduces a licensing regime for miners and obliges them to sell the bulk of their revenue on domestic-registered exchanges.
Do you think Kazakhstan will continue to crack down on unlicensed crypto trading platforms? Let us know in the comments section below.
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