Official confirmation has been received from the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan that the Coinbase website has been blocked within the country. Coinbase has been inaccessible to local IP addresses by Kazakhstani authorities since September.
Kursiv, a local news agency, reported on November 7 that the Coinbase website was inaccessible following a directive from the Ministry of Culture and Information.
The request originated from a different government agency, the Ministry of Digital Development, which accused Coinbase of violating the Law on Digital Assets, according to Ministry representatives who explained to journalists.
Enacted in February 2023, the Law on Digital Assets prohibits the issuance and trading of digital currencies and crypto exchange operations that do not possess a valid national license. Authority from the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), a Kazakhstani special economic zone, issues the in-principal authorization to operate.
Xignal&MT, Binance, Bybit, CaspianEx, Biteeu, ATAIX, and Upbit have all received approval from the AIFC’s regulatory body, the Astana Financial Services Authority.
The initial reports regarding access issues to the Coinbase website surfaced in September, when Finance.kz, a local Telegram publication, stated that the “great Kazakh investment firewall” restricts access to Kraken and other prominent international cryptocurrency exchanges in addition to Coinbase.
Kazakhstan has implemented rigorous regulatory measures regarding cryptocurrencies, including in its mining industry, which is among the most extensive globally.
In an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dated October, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators claimed that the crypto-mining industry is in an “extremely distressing situation” due to miners’ expensive energy costs.
