Kazakhstan plans national cryptocurrency reserve using seized assets, state-mined coins

Kazakhstan will establish a state cryptocurrency reserve under a National Bank affiliate, financing the plan with assets seized in criminal cases and coins mined by state-owned operations, the country's central bank governor, Timur Suleimenov, said, according to a  report by Kazinform.

The regulator is drafting rules that follow sovereign-wealth best practices, including a single-manager setup, transparent books, and audited, secure storage. Suleimenov argued that a single custodian shields public assets from market swings and hacks. He expects ministries and law enforcement to finalize the framework, but shared no launch date or target size as of the time of writing.

The move extends Kazakhstan’s push into the crypto sector. The country controls about 13% of global Bitcoin hashrate and has imposed licensing rules on miners after officials seized nearly $200 million in illegal rigs following power shortages in 2022.

Elsewhere, public treasuries worldwide now eye crypto. The United States weighs a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, while Arizona, Ohio, and Texas have already passed bills to hold BTC. On the non-sovereign isle, companies like Strategy , Metaplanet , and Gamestop , to name a few, have raised capital through equity and debt to stockpile Bitcoin. Additionally, firms such as SharpLink and DeFi Development Corp have employed similar accounting techniques to access funds for corporate treasuries, utilizing assets like Ether and Solana, respectively.