- President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced Kazakhstan’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve initiative, creating a state fund for digital assets managed by the National Bank’s investment arm.
- The country is simultaneously rolling out the digital tenge CBDC, already piloted for VAT refunds and infrastructure payments, with full scale-up planned by year-end.
- A US$1 billion high-tech investment programme includes the “Al-Sana” education scheme to provide AI training to 100,000 students and create digital learning platforms.
- Kazakhstan aims to establish a “full-fledged ecosystem of digital assets as soon as possible” and position itself as a regional cryptocurrency and digital innovation hub.
Kazakhstan is the latest nation-state to join the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) community. After deliberating since July 2025 whether to commit to an SBR, Kazakhstan is now making progress with plans to create a fund to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve under the management of the National Bank’s investment arm.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev unveiled the initiative as part of a broader push to build a robust digital asset ecosystem, leveraging Kazakhstan’s increasingly mature regulatory environment.
Kazakhstan Introduces CBDC
The initiative dovetails with the rapid rollout of the digital tenge, Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency. Already piloted across various public finance applications – such as VAT refunds and infrastructure-backed payments – the digital tenge is poised for full scale-up by year-end, reinforcing transparency and efficiency in government operations.
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Complementing these financial innovations, Tokayev has directed the launch of a high-tech investment programme worth up to US$1 billion (AU$1.51 billion), aimed at spurring technological growth and fintech advancement.
A cornerstone of this vision is the “Al-Sana” education scheme, which promises to provide AI training to 100,000 students, alongside the creation of a digital platform for AI-enabled schooling – Jschool for future innovators even in remote areas.
SBR to Come As Soon As Possible, According to President
Beyond this, the SBR initiative should enable the government to create a “full-fledged ecosystem of digital assets as soon as possible”, Tokayev explained.
He said that it “is advisable to create a State Fund of Digital Assets on the basis of the National Bank’s Investment Corporation”, adding that the “structure will accumulate a strategic crypto reserve consisting of promising assets in the new digital financial system”.
Earlier in August, Kazakhstan also became the first country in the region to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Kazakhstan’s Astana International Exchange (AIX) announced the start of trading on 13 August 2025.
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