Kazakhstan and Binance have agreed to develop a regional settlement hub for international payments and transfers. The corresponding memorandum was signed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the international company, reports infohub.kz.
According to the National Bank, the document was signed by Deputy Chairman Binur Zhalenov and Binance's Head of Regional Development and Operations for the Global Office, Kirill Khomyakov. The ceremony was attended by National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
The future hub will focus on international payments and money transfers, including settlements for transactions involving digital assets of Binance clients from Central Asia, the CIS, and Eastern Europe.
As part of the project, it is planned to establish a Binance group entity in Kazakhstan and the necessary infrastructure, obtaining a National Bank license to operate as a first-category payment organization, the central bank noted.
The project's launch in Kazakhstan became possible after reforms in digital asset regulation and the introduction of a new financial market participant – the first-category payment organization. The new rules allow for expanding the presence of international companies and developing innovative payment and financial services.
Binance has become one of the first global companies to start implementing a project under the new regulation. It is expected that part of Binance's regional operations will be moved to Kazakhstan. This will allow serving a significant portion of the company's clients in the region through the Kazakh jurisdiction, as well as attracting international technological expertise to the country.
The National Bank expects the project to contribute to the development of digital financial services exports and strengthen Kazakhstan's role as a regional hub for digital financial technologies. The signing of the memorandum is another step in developing Kazakhstan's digital financial infrastructure and integrating the country into the global financial system.