Kazakhstan debuts state-backed crypto fund with BNB

Kazakhstan has established a state-backed crypto reserve in partnership with Binance, marking the country’s latest move into digital assets.

The initial digital asset in the fund’s portfolio is BNB (BNB), the utility token that drives transactions, fees, and governance on Binance’s blockchain, according to a Monday announcement on the Kazakhstan government’s website.

The announcement did not specify how much BNB was purchased to seed the fund, nor did it give any details about what other crypto investments might follow.

The fund, called Alem Crypto Fund, was created by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development and is managed by Qazaqstan Venture Group under the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

“The primary objective of the fund is to make long-term investments in digital assets and to build strategic reserves,” the announcement reads.

Binance has been a close partner of the Kazakhstan government since 2022, when its then CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development to help develop the country’s crypto regulatory framework.

The news was announced less than a week after Kazakhstan rolled out its own tenge-backed stablecoin, KZTE, on the Solana network through a partnership with Mastercard, Intebix, and Eurasian Bank.

Related: The proposed US Bitcoin strategic reserve, explained

Kazakhstan continues to evolve its crypto policies

Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation of about 20 million people, has long been a significant hub for crypto mining. In 2021, it ranked second globally by Bitcoin hashrate — the total computing power used by miners to secure the network and process transactions.

In 2024, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for regulators to adopt a more transparent legal framework around digital assets after 36 unlicensed exchanges were shut down in the country.

In May 2025, the country unveiled plans for “CryptoCity,” a pilot zone allowing crypto payments. Earlier this month, Tokayev called for a strategic crypto reserve and a “full-fledged ecosystem of digital assets,” with legislation to be drafted before 2026.

The announcement came a few months after a June report from Cointelegraph that the National Bank of Kazakhstan was considering plans for a state-run crypto reserve to be funded with seized assets and state mining revenues.