Kazakhstan will use crypto assets seized from criminals to fund its national crypto reserve, according to the National Investment Corporation.
- Kazakhstan plans to fund its national crypto reserve using assets seized by law enforcement.
- $350 million in foreign currency and gold reserves has been earmarked to support the initiative.
As reported by local media, the NIC, which is the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s investment arm, reportedly plans on using “crypto seized by law enforcement agencies,” on top of foreign currency and gold reserves, to grow the reserve fund.
Timur Suleimenov, chairman of the National Bank, said in a statement to the media that $350 million worth of overseas currency and gold has already been earmarked for the initiative.
Meanwhile, the NIC said it has already established an account for its crypto-related investments at the country’s Central Depository, where it won’t make any direct purchases of crypto but rather route investments through hedge funds.
It has already compiled a shortlist of five hedge funds for this purpose, but did not disclose their identities. Down the line, the NIC also plans to allocate capital into crypto-specific venture capital funds, Suleimenov said.
As previously reported by crypto.news, plans to launch a dedicated crypto reserve were formally confirmed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in September, when he said the reserve would also be funded by coins mined via state-backed operations.
At the time, Tokayev floated the idea of building a smart urban hub dubbed “CryptoCity,” designed to incorporate smart city technologies and enable crypto-based payments for goods and services.
Kazakhstan’s cautiously optimistic approach
Although Kazakhstan has increasingly softened its stance towards cryptocurrencies, it continues to maintain a strict policy against unlicensed operations.
A report from earlier this month claimed financial authorities in the country blocked over 1,100 online platforms offering cryptocurrency exchange services throughout 2025.
Elsewhere, the Astana Financial Services Authority has started to settle regulatory fees using USD-pegged stablecoins through a select group of agents as part of the country’s broader digitization push. Crypto exchange Bybit was signed on as one of the first agents.
ByBit recently launched as the country’s fully regulated peer-to-peer platform to offer a transparent and secure environment for trading crypto assets.
Kazakhstan has also launched a stablecoin project on Solana, with the National Bank working alongside local banks and exchanges.
