Kazakhstan Court Restricts Six Crypto Platforms in Astana Financial Center

Preface

Kazakhstan’s financial regulator has obtained court orders restricting six cryptocurrency platforms from providing or promoting services without authorization within the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The ruling concerns activity inside this designated financial hub, which operates under its own legal framework and regulator; it is not a nationwide ban. The platforms named in the orders are BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX. The court also addressed the role of Apple and Google as app-store operators, while declining to issue a separate injunction against them at this stage. One platform, LBank, was removed from the proceedings after it addressed the regulator’s concerns. This article explains the scope of the orders, the AIFC’s licensing requirements, the proceedings’ timeline and the distinction between restrictions inside the financial center and rules elsewhere in Kazakhstan.

Lazy bag

The court barred six platforms from offering or marketing unlicensed digital-asset services and distributing related mobile apps within the AIFC. The orders apply only to the financial center and users located there, not to the rest of Kazakhstan. LBank was removed after addressing AFSA’s concerns and blocking access to its services in Kazakhstan. Apple and Google may have app-store responsibilities after receiving the orders, but the court said AFSA should first discuss the necessary steps with them. The proceedings followed warnings to more than 20 crypto platforms in 2025 and court action in early 2026.

Main Body

Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) secured court orders restricting six cryptocurrency platforms from conducting unlicensed business within the Astana International Financial Centre. The orders name BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX. They prohibit the platforms from offering or marketing digital-asset services without authorization in the AIFC, and from distributing mobile applications for those services within the center.

The ruling’s geographic scope is central to understanding its effect. The restrictions apply to the AIFC and users located there. They do not extend across the rest of Kazakhstan and should not be described as a countrywide prohibition on the named platforms. In a Sept. 15 judgment, Justice Sir Stephen Richards specified that the injunctions were limited to the financial center. This distinction reflects the AIFC’s separate legal and regulatory framework within Kazakhstan.

The AIFC is a financial hub in Kazakhstan’s capital. It has its own regulator and legal system, and firms seeking to provide crypto-related services inside the center must obtain the required license. The court orders therefore address whether platforms can offer or promote covered services in this particular jurisdiction without authorization. They do not, on the information reported, establish a general ruling about every service a platform may provide elsewhere in the country.

AFSA’s case also involved the distribution of mobile applications. The court’s orders prohibit the named platforms from distributing apps for unlicensed services within the AIFC. Apple and Google, as app-store operators, are also bound by the order in that context. However, the court did not issue a separate injunction against either company. Instead, it said AFSA should first discuss with the firms what steps may be necessary. The ruling thus recognizes the app stores’ potential role without setting out a separate, immediate injunction against them.

LBank appeared in the initial proceedings but was later removed from the order. It was removed on Sept. 18, after addressing AFSA’s concerns. The regulator said LBank blocked access to its services in Kazakhstan. Its removal illustrates that the proceedings’ scope could change as platforms responded to the regulator’s concerns and took steps relating to access. It also distinguishes LBank’s outcome from that of the six platforms that remained named in the court orders.

The court entered judgment by default because the platform operators did not respond within the required period. A default judgment is a procedural outcome following a failure to respond as required; the source account does not describe it as a decision made after the platforms presented arguments in a contested hearing. AFSA said its enforcement effort began in 2025, when it issued warnings to more than 20 crypto platforms. Court proceedings followed in early 2026. The sequence shows the regulator’s move from warnings to legal action, though the available account does not provide additional detail about the individual warnings.

Coinbase had previously encountered restrictions in Kazakhstan in 2023. At that time, authorities blocked its website over alleged violations of the country’s digital asset law. That earlier action is distinct from the current AIFC orders: the earlier restriction concerned a website block by authorities, while the new court orders are specifically described as applying within the financial center and to users located there. The two developments provide background to Coinbase’s regulatory history in the country, but they should not be treated as identical measures.

The reporting also stated that CoinDesk contacted the platforms for comment but had not received responses before publication. No response from the named platforms is therefore included in the account. The orders’ practical effects may depend on implementation within the AIFC, including how platforms restrict or cease covered services and how app-store operators respond after engagement with AFSA. The reported judgment does not establish that Apple or Google must take a particular step immediately; rather, it calls for discussion with the regulator before any necessary action is determined.

Overall, the case concerns authorization and jurisdiction. AFSA sought to enforce the AIFC’s licensing rules against platforms it said were offering or promoting services without authorization. The court granted restrictions limited to that financial center, while leaving the regulator to discuss app-store measures with Apple and Google. LBank’s removal followed its response to AFSA’s concerns, and the remaining platforms were subject to default judgment after failing to respond within the required period. Keeping these details separate helps clarify what the ruling does—and does not—say about crypto services across Kazakhstan.

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