Republic of Kazakhstan to Build CBDC on BNB Chain

The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will reportedly integrate its central bank digital currency (CBDC) into Binance’s blockchain network, BNB Chain, said Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The country’s central bank began testing a CBDC in 2021.  

Changpeng Zhao, founder, and CEO of Binance announced on Twitter that the NBK will integrate its CBDC, the digital Tenge, on the BNB Chain – Binance’s blockchain network. Zhao also said that he looks forward to the NBK further developing use cases to “bridge the gap between traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem.” The NBK started testing the digital Tenge last year and will reportedly decide on whether or not it is feasible to launch it by the end of 2022. Using Binance’s BNB chain will bring added security and efficiency to the CBDC, and the NBK is currently undertaking research and evaluating potential technology partners for its project.

We introduced them to the #BNB Chain community to discuss testing integrating their CBDC (Digital Tenge) with @BNBCHAIN.

If you’re not aware, NKB recently launched a CBDC pilot in a controlled environment and with real consumers and merchants. (3/4)

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) October 26, 2022

The launch of a CBDC signals that the country is trying to push its crypto agency. In August, Binance was granted in-principle approval to operate as a digital asset provider in the country. In October, the Kazakh Financial Services Authority granted the exchange a permanent license to offer digital asset services and provide custody services. Around the same time, Binance was awarded the license to operate, the exchange also undersigned a memorandum of understanding with the Financial Monitoring Agency of Kazakhstan as part of a move toward establishing a global law enforcement training program to combat financial crimes. The program involves officials from regulatory and law enforcement agencies across the globe and aims to strengthen industry cooperation with both national and international law enforcement, in the battle against cybercrimes and financial crimes. It also intends to identify and block digital assets that were illegally obtained and used for money laundering and financial terrorism.

Although the country has been very bullish on cryptocurrencies, it has moved to impose higher tax rates on crypto miners. In July, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, enacted a law amending the country’s tax code to increase tax rates on crypto miners. The higher levies are based on the amount and the average price of the electricity used in the extraction of digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.