EN
Español
Português (Brasil)
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
Bahasa Indonesia
Polski
Čeština
Română
Slovenčina
Magyar20 Oct 2026
The Astana International Financial Centre court has issued injunctions stopping six crypto platforms, including Coinbase, BingX and HTX, from offering digital-asset services in its jurisdiction without a licence. Apple and Google are covered too, with geographic restrictions on access to the apps, while nine other platforms avoided action by restricting access voluntarily.
Kazakhstan has stepped up enforcement against offshore crypto platforms. The court of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has prohibited six platforms from offering digital-asset services in its jurisdiction without a licence, according to an announcement by the local regulator, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), reported by Cointelegraph on Tuesday.
Which platforms are affected
AFSA sued the operators for offering digital-asset services without authorization. The court’s 15 September order originally named seven platforms: BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase, LBank and WEEX. An amendment three days later removed LBank after its operator blocked access in Kazakhstan, leaving six platforms subject to the injunctions.
The order also reaches app stores. Google and Apple are covered as app-store operators, with geographic restrictions on access to the remaining platforms’ apps. Cointelegraph said requests for comment to BingX, Coinbase and Huobi Global were not immediately answered.
Why the regulator acted
AFSA argued that users of unlicensed platforms lack the safeguards required of licensed firms, including asset protection, disclosure, complaints handling and dispute resolution. AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova said the decision was the result of “extensive and consistent efforts” by the authority’s supervision and enforcement teams against platforms that were advertising and offering services without the required permission.
The regulator said it warned more than 20 platforms about AIFC rules in 2025. Nine of them voluntarily restricted app access in the country and seven said they intended to seek licences. AFSA withdrew its claims against those nine, while the injunctions will be enforced against the remaining six.
The AIFC is a financial hub in Astana with its own regulator and court. Outside the AIFC, Kazakhstan’s National Bank oversees digital-asset service providers. This is not the country’s first crackdown: Cointelegraph previously reported that Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency blocked access to almost 1,000 unregistered crypto exchanges in 2023.
What it means for traders
- Users in Kazakhstan: apps from the six named platforms may become harder to download or update through Apple and Google stores. Keep your withdrawal options open and do not leave more on an exchange than you actively trade.
- Licensing matters more each quarter: regulators from the EU to Central Asia are pushing exchanges to be licensed locally or leave. Before choosing a platform, check which legal entity serves your country. Our exchange comparison shows the regulation status we could verify for each exchange.
- Read the fine print on regional availability: a global platform can be fully licensed in one region and unlicensed in another. Our reviews of BingX, Coinbase and HTX list where each one is registered. See how we test for our method.
What to watch next
The key questions are whether any of the six platforms apply for an AIFC licence, as seven other firms said they would, and how quickly the app-store restrictions take effect. We will update this story if the named exchanges respond.
Related reviews
Sources
News is for information only and is not financial advice. More crypto news