Kazakhstan court bars Coinbase, five others from unlicensed crypto services in Astana International Financial Centre
The court injunctions apply strictly to users within the AIFC and do not extend across the rest of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s financial regulator secured court orders restricting Coinbase and five other crypto platforms from offering services without authorization in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).
The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) said that the injunctions cover BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX. The orders prohibit the platforms from offering or marketing unlicensed digital asset services and distributing mobile apps for those services within the center.
The restrictions do not amount to a nationwide ban. In a Sept. 15 judgment, Justice Sir Stephen Richards said the injunctions apply only to the AIFC and users located there.
The Astana International Financial Centre is a financial hub in Kazakhstan’s capital that operates under its own legal framework and regulator. It requires crypto firms to obtain a license to offer services within the center.
The order also binds Google and Apple as app-store operators, though the court declined to issue a separate injunction against them, saying AFSA should first discuss necessary steps with the firms.
LBank was named in the initial proceedings, and was removed on Sept. 18 after addressing AFSA’s concerns. The regulator said the platform blocked access to its services in Kazakhstan.
The court entered judgment by default after the platform operators failed to respond within the required period. AFSA said its enforcement effort began in 2025 with warnings to more than 20 crypto platforms, followed by court proceedings in early 2026.
Coinbase had previously faced restrictions in Kazakhstan in 2023, when authorities blocked its website over alleged violations of the country’s digital asset law.
CoinDesk reached out to the platforms for comment, but hadn’t heard back before publication.
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Asanat Analysis — Why it matters
Kazakhstan's Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court has issued injunctions against Coinbase and five unnamed exchanges for operating without proper licensing within the AIFC jurisdiction. Critically, these orders are geographically confined to the AIFC's special economic zone and do not apply to the broader Kazakhstani market. This distinction matters: the AIFC operates under its own legal framework separate from national law, creating a bifurcated regulatory environment within a single country.
The action signals tightening compliance expectations in Kazakhstan's crypto hub despite the nation's historical openness to digital asset businesses. It reflects a global pattern where financial centres—even crypto-friendly ones—are formalizing licensing regimes as regulatory pressure mounts from international bodies. For platforms, the AIFC injunction is operationally contained but symbolically significant; it suggests that even specialized fintech zones are retreating from permissionless models. Coinbase and competitors will likely need AIFC licenses or must redirect Kazakhstani AIFC users to compliant channels.
This development may accelerate Kazakhstan's regulatory framework maturation, potentially creating a template for other regional hubs balancing innovation with compliance. However, the limitation to AIFC jurisdiction leaves Kazakhstan's broader crypto market status ambiguous, potentially creating arbitrage opportunities or regulatory confusion for domestic users.