Kazakhstan’s government is reportedly considering using part of its National Fund and foreign exchange reserves to establish a state-managed cryptocurrency reserve.
According to The Times of Central Asia, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank Berik Sholpankulov announced the initiative during a parliamentary session. Bloomberg Law reported Friday that the government intends to allocate between $500 million and $1 billion to the new fund.
“I think by year end, January next year, we will have it up and running,” Sholpankulov said. He added that the plan involves using a portion of the National Fund’s assets, as well as gold and foreign exchange reserves, to invest in crypto assets.
State-Managed Digital Reserve Under Discussion
Sholpankulov also confirmed that confiscated assets would be transferred into the new fund, forming part of a “strategic reserve of the government.”
Additionally, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development has proposed allowing state-owned companies to supply energy to private cryptocurrency miners in exchange for payment in crypto.
The proposal is seen as part of a broader effort to integrate digital assets into the country’s financial system and diversify away from traditional commodity-based reserves.
Building on Previous Crypto Partnerships
This development follows Kazakhstan’s earlier partnership with crypto exchange Binance to launch a state-backed digital reserve, with BNB as the first asset in its portfolio.
In October, authorities also shut down 130 illegal crypto platforms tied to money laundering and seized $16.7 million in digital assets.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has consistently called for the creation of a “full-fledged ecosystem of digital assets” and urged regulators to accelerate efforts to integrate crypto into the national economy.
Kazakhstan’s Dual Model of Digital Finance
The country is simultaneously piloting its central bank digital currency (CBDC) while developing a stablecoin in collaboration with Solana and Mastercard.
Together, these initiatives reflect Kazakhstan’s ambition to become a regional hub for digital finance, using both centralized and decentralized technologies to strengthen its financial sovereignty.
