Kazakhstan mulls ban on cryptocurrencies

Kazakhstan mulls ban on cryptocurrencies
A Trezor hardware bitcoin wallet. / Ladislav Mecir.
By bne IntelliNews April 2, 2018

Kazakhstan’s central bank is considering a ban on cryptocurrency use, exchanges, and mining, Daniyar Akishev, the chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Bank, told Sputnik News.

The central bank says it believes that virtual currencies can be easily used as a vehicle for money laundering, fraud and tax evasion. Its stance echoes that of the Russian Ministry of Finance. In March, the Russian authorities drafted a law criminalising the use of digital currencies in order to “protect the ruble”.

“In Kazakhstan, the National Bank is taking a very conservative approach toward the matter, and it welcomes nothing but extremely tough restrictions,” Akishev said.

“We want to ban the exchange of digital currencies for the national currency,” he added. “We want to prohibit the stock exchange’s activities in this area, as well as every type of mining.”

“Digital currencies are an ideal instrument for money laundering and tax evasion,” he said.

Akishev conceded that the Kazakh regulator cannot control cryptocurrency trade by the Central Asian nation’s citizens outside Kazakhstan’s borders. However, he said, the bank can ban crypto-mining within its borders.

“We minimise the risks related to the national market. However, no central bank has all the instruments to control this market in the cross-border market. Therefore, at least, we must prevent this risk via the national currency.”

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