Regional reports from Kazakhstan indicate that Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges globally, has been blocked as it reportedly “violates paragraph 5 of Article 11 of the Digital Assets Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.” Essentially, the clause is a policy on the issuance and sale of unregistered crypto securities, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information.
Coinbase, NYMEX Hit by Website Bans as Kazakhstan’s Regulatory Nets Tighten
The Coinbase website is reportedly blocked in Kazakhstan, according to a local report from Kursiv News. In addition to Coinbase, websites tied to the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Interactive Brokers were also banned. The Kazakhstan government said they did this because these websites were allegedly not complying with clause 5 of Article 11 of the Law on “Digital Assets.”
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information stated:
The Information Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Information received a request from the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan asking to block the internet resource www.coinbase.com, which violates paragraph 5 of article 11 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on ‘Digital Assets’ in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The government of Kazakhstan, along with its National Bank, has set restrictions on certain financial web platforms, with an exception carved out for the Astana International Financial Center zone (AIFC). According to a report by Kursiv News, the ban on the NYMEX site ensued because it facilitates futures trading in the cryptocurrency assets bitcoin and ethereum, activities that fall beyond the AIFC’s regulatory domain.
In Kazakhstan, bitcoin mining operations are also facing challenges, prompting licensed operators to appeal to the authorities for a revision of the taxation policies affecting their sector. Representatives from some of the “largest representatives of the industry” have indicated that the current tax environment may force them to cease their activities within the Central Asian nation, which also extends into Europe.
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