Illustration: AI
Payward KZ Ltd. appeared in the AFSA register on November 9. Its shareholder is Payward, Inc., the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. Kraken is preparing to enter Kazakhstan through the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) (t.me).
What we know
On October 22, Kraken received in-principle approval from AFSA, the AIFC’s financial services regulator. The group has now established a local presence through Payward KZ Ltd. Kraken plans to give customers in Kazakhstan access to its exchange’s global liquidity.
In-principle approval is not yet a licence. Registering a company does not mean the exchange is already operating in Kazakhstan: Kraken has not announced a launch.
Other companies in the AIFC
Binance and Bybit already hold full AFSA licences. Bitfinex Securities also operates in the AIFC. It is the arm of Bitfinex that issues tokenised securities, meaning securities in the form of digital tokens.
AFSA licenses and supervises companies operating under AIFC law. According to the regulator, seven more platforms have said they intend to seek licences to operate digital asset trading facilities.
For how Kazakhstan’s legal crypto market works and what taxes investors pay, see our guide to AIFC exchanges.
