Kazakhstan Court Orders Restrictions on Six Crypto Platforms
Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court has issued injunctions against six cryptocurrency platforms over allegations that they offered digital-asset services without the required authorization. The restrictions also extend to app-store operators Google and Apple, requiring geographic limits on access to the affected platforms in Kazakhstan.
The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) announced the decision on Tuesday, explaining that the injunctions followed legal action against operators providing crypto-related services without authorization in the AIFC jurisdiction.
The court’s September 15 order initially named BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase, LBank and WEEX. An amendment issued three days later removed LBank from the order after its operator blocked access to the platform in Kazakhstan. The remaining six platforms are subject to enforcement.
Google and Apple Face App-Store Restrictions
The court’s order covers Google and Apple in their capacity as app-store operators. Geographic restrictions are intended to limit access in Kazakhstan to the remaining platforms covered by the injunctions.
The measures form part of AFSA’s efforts to address crypto services advertised or offered in the country without the necessary permission. The regulator’s position is that platforms operating without authorization do not provide the same protections required of licensed firms.
Those protections include safeguards for customer assets, disclosure requirements, complaint-handling procedures and mechanisms for resolving disputes. Users of unlicensed services may therefore face fewer formal avenues for addressing problems involving their funds or transactions.
Why Licensing Matters for Crypto Users
Authorization establishes a regulatory framework under which digital-asset service providers must meet applicable requirements. For customers, those requirements can include standards for protecting assets, communicating risks and handling complaints.
AFSA has emphasized that crypto platforms operating in its jurisdiction must obtain the appropriate permission before offering regulated services. Its official announcement on the court injunctions outlines the enforcement action and the regulator’s position on unlicensed operators.
Kazakhstan also has a separate regulatory structure for digital-asset service providers operating outside the AIFC. The country’s National Bank publishes information about its regulatory activities and related requirements through its official website. The applicable rules depend on the jurisdiction and type of service involved.
Nine Platforms Restricted Access Voluntarily
The court action followed a broader supervisory campaign by AFSA. The authority said it warned more than 20 platforms about AIFC requirements during 2025, seeking to address services that were being advertised or offered without authorization.
Nine platforms voluntarily restricted app access in Kazakhstan, while seven indicated that they intended to apply for licenses. AFSA subsequently withdrew its claims against the nine platforms that restricted access. The injunctions will instead be enforced against the six platforms remaining in the case.
The distinction highlights two responses to regulatory scrutiny: restricting access to comply with the regulator’s concerns or pursuing authorization to operate under the applicable framework. The supplied announcement does not establish whether every platform that expressed an intention to apply for a license has since completed that process.
AFSA Says Enforcement Followed Sustained Supervisory Work
AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova described the court decision as the outcome of sustained work by the regulator’s supervision and enforcement teams.
“This court decision is the result of extensive and consistent efforts by AFSA’s Supervision and Enforcement teams to address the activities of unlicensed crypto platforms that were advertising without authorization and offering digital asset-related services in Kazakhstan without the required permission,” Bogdanova said.
The injunctions represent a legal step beyond warnings alone, bringing app-store access restrictions into the enforcement process. Their practical effect will depend on implementation of the geographic limits and the platforms’ responses to Kazakhstan’s licensing requirements.
Kazakhstan Continues to Target Unregistered Crypto Services
The latest action fits into Kazakhstan’s wider efforts to address cryptocurrency services operating outside its regulatory framework. The National Bank’s role in overseeing providers outside the AIFC illustrates that supervision is divided across different parts of the country’s financial system.
The case also follows earlier restrictions on unregistered exchanges. In 2023, Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency blocked access to almost 1,000 crypto exchanges serving citizens without proper registration. That earlier action and the current injunctions concern regulatory access and authorization, although they involve different enforcement measures and time periods.
For crypto users, the central issue is whether a platform is permitted to provide the relevant services in Kazakhstan. The presence of an app in a store or the ability to access a website does not, by itself, establish that a provider is authorized under local rules.
The latest court decision places six platforms under access restrictions while recognizing the voluntary measures taken by nine others. It reinforces AFSA’s approach of using licensing requirements and enforcement action to limit the provision of unauthorized digital-asset services in the AIFC jurisdiction.
