Kazakhstan’s government is reportedly contemplating the conversion of a portion of its National Fund, along with some gold and foreign exchange reserves, into digital assets to establish a cryptocurrency reserve.

According to The Times of Central Asia, Berik Sholpankulov, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Bank, revealed this initiative during a parliamentary session. A Bloomberg Law report suggested that the government is aiming to allocate between $500 million and $1 billion towards this project.

“I think by year-end, January next year, we will have it up and running,” Sholpankulov stated. Translation: Sholpankulov mentioned that the cryptocurrency asset fund might soon be operational.

He indicated that discussions are ongoing among government officials regarding the establishment of this state-managed fund. Moreover, Sholpankulov expressed that confiscated assets would be allocated to the state digital asset fund, intended to serve as a strategic reserve for the government. He also highlighted a proposal from the Ministry of Digital Development to permit state-owned companies to provide energy services to private cryptocurrency mining firms in return for digital currency.

Former headquarters of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty. Source: Wikimedia

The reported initiative aligns with Kazakhstan’s recent launch of a state-backed crypto reserve in collaboration with the crypto exchange Binance late last month, where BNB is noted as the initial digital asset in its portfolio.

Recently, Kazakhstan also took significant actions against cryptocurrency platforms related to money laundering, shutting down 130 of them and seizing approximately $16.7 million in cryptocurrency.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for the establishment of a “full-fledged ecosystem of digital assets” and has urged regulators to expedite their efforts to incorporate cryptocurrency into the nation’s broader economic strategies.

Additionally, the country is advancing a dual model by piloting its central bank digital currency, while also gearing up to launch a stablecoin in collaboration with Solana and Mastercard.