Kazakhstan Blocks Coinbase, HTX, BingX and Other Platforms

A court within Kazakhstan's Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has issued injunctions against six cryptocurrency platforms, prohibiting them from providing, offering or marketing digital-asset services in the financial centre's jurisdiction without authorisation. The operators named are Coinbase, HTX, BingX, Bitcoin.com, BitMart and WEEX. LBank was initially included in the action but was dropped after it voluntarily restricted access to its services in Kazakhstan.

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) published details of the enforcement action on October 20, though the judgment itself was handed down on September 15 and amended three days later. According to the regulator, the ruling took the form of a default judgment after the operators failed to file acknowledgments of service or defences within the required period, meaning no contested trial took place. The amended judgment makes the six companies jointly and severally liable for roughly 1.995 million Kazakhstani tenge in legal expenses and court costs — litigation costs rather than a regulatory penalty.

Scope limited to the AIFC

AFSA had originally sought restrictions covering the whole of Kazakhstan. However, legislative changes effective May 1 moved broader supervision of digital-asset activity outside the AIFC to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, and the court consequently narrowed the injunctions to activities within the financial centre and to users located there. The judgment leaves open the possibility of a future application for wider relief.

The order also draws in the app stores. The court directed that notice be served on Apple and Google, which become bound by the judgment upon service while retaining the right to ask for it to be varied or set aside. The ruling does not amount to a separate nationwide app-removal injunction; it instead provides for cooperation to prevent applications from facilitating unauthorised activity within the AIFC. AFSA said the orders would be sent to both companies but has not confirmed that all six apps have been restricted or removed.

AFSA said its enforcement campaign began in 2025 with written warnings to more than 20 crypto platforms setting out the AIFC's licensing requirements. Nine operators subsequently restricted access voluntarily and the corresponding claims were withdrawn, while seven indicated they intend to seek licences. The regulator argues that unlicensed operators enjoy an unfair advantage over licensed firms that fund anti-money-laundering controls and supervision, and that their customers forgo required safeguards. Licensed venues, such as Bybit — which previously obtained AFSA authorisation — could gain competitively, though AFSA has not disclosed local trading volumes or customer balances for the affected platforms.