Get an AIFC crypto license in Kazakhstan.

An AFSA licence inside the AIFC - digital-asset trading facility for exchanges, plus brokerage and custody authorisations; mining needs a separate national licence. Outside the Centre, retail crypto exchange remains restricted to a licensed perimeter - operators on the National Bank's registers - which is precisely what makes the licence valuable.

Per the AIFC Fees Rules: a US$98,000 authorisation fee for a digital-asset trading facility (brokerage and custody sit in lower tiers), US$30,000 fixed annual supervision plus activity-based charges, and capital at the higher of US$200,000 or twelve months of working capital. The AFSA puts its average processing time at two to three months from a materially complete application; in practice, five to seven months to licence. Minimum share capital for the entity itself is nominal.

Yes, with one carve-out: under the Centre's constitutional statute, income from the listed financial and ancillary services is exempt from corporate income tax until 1 January 2066, but since 1 January 2023 a digital asset exchange is excluded and pays CIT under the general rules. Facilities in the AIFC used for the listed services are free of property and land tax; non-qualifying income is taxed normally - we map the split.

No. Kazakhstan is a top-tier mining country, but the duty to sell 75% of mined assets through licensed AIFC exchanges was abolished in November 2025. Since then, miners choose where to sell, so for a licensed venue they are clients to win on price and service rather than captive flow.

A real AIFC participant: presence in Astana, vetted directors and key employees, and local AML and compliance officers - combinable in one person at the start, separated as you scale.

The Centre runs its own court and arbitration centre on English law with international judges - contracts, custody terms and disputes live on common-law rails rather than in the general Kazakh system.

AFSA rulebook AML/CFT: KYC and monitoring, reporting to the financial-monitoring authorities, travel-rule readiness and named compliance officers the regulator has vetted.

The CryptoCity pilot tests retail crypto payments in a designated zone - a signal of direction rather than a licence category. Retail exchange access runs through licensed venues: AFSA-licensed platforms in the AIFC and, outside it, operators on the National Bank's registers.

Personal income tax is a flat 10%, among the lightest in the region; dividends and salaries follow ordinary Kazakh rules unless AIFC-specific exemptions apply - we model the founder side with the corporate one.

Arithmetic and access: a published capital formula, fees in five figures not six, 0% CIT to 2066 for brokerage and custody (not exchanges), a regulated seat beside Central Asian liquidity, and a licensed mining industry next door. The EU adds a passport, the Gulf adds prestige; many groups sequence accordingly.

Yes. Mining is licensed outside the AIFC under the national digital assets law: miners hold a licence and pay the electricity-linked levy on top of corporate income tax. Since November 2025 they may use container set-ups, and the duty to sell 75% of mined output through AIFC exchanges was abolished. An AFSA licence covers trading, brokerage and custody, not mining, so a group that does both needs both. Our crypto mining license guide covers the licence subtypes, the fees and the mining fee per kWh, and compares Kazakhstan with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.