Authorities in Kazakhstan have dismantled an illegal cryptocurrency trading platform and seized more than $350,000. The exchange allegedly processed nearly $34 million in transactions through wallets on Binance, two of which were blocked during the ongoing investigation.
Digital asset exchange that generated millions in turnover shut down in Kazakhstan
An illegal cryptocurrency trading platform in Kazakhstan, ABS Change, has been identified and shut down, according to the country’s Financial Supervisory Agency (FMA). Announced In Telegram Three Kazakh citizens have been charged with running the exchange which has been carrying out its activities without a license since 2021.
During an operation in the nation’s capital, law enforcement officers seized $342,000 and 7 million tenge (almost $16,000) in cash. The entity had another $23,000 worth of crypto assets in two wallets on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which have been temporarily restricted, the statement details.
According to the FMA, ABS Change transferred a total of $34 million via Binance. The watchdog noted that its operations were conducted out of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). Only exchanges that are residents of the financial center are authorized to provide cryptocurrency trading services in the Central Asian nation.
The FMA’s main focus has been on preventing “grey” business activities, including those in the crypto space, with the agency saying that Kazakhstan’s shadow economy shrank to less than 20% last year. In January, the regulator removed several coin trading websites. In February, he seized nearly $188,000 in property, including digital assets, from a Russian national involved in these illegal operations.
After China’s crackdown on the industry, Kazakhstan lured many cryptocurrency miners with its cheap electricity, but they have been blamed for a growing power deficit. Since the expansion of the sector, the Nur-Sultan government has been taking steps to regulate it and the growing crypto-economy of the country as a whole.
A law restricting mining farms’ access to low-cost energy came into effect in Kazakhstan in February. The legislation introduces a licensing regime for miners and obliges them to sell most of their income on registered exchanges in the country.
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