Kazakhstan AIFC Court Prohibits Coinbase and Other Platforms from Providing Digital Asset Services Without a License
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court in Kazakhstan has issued an injunction prohibiting Coinbase, BingX, HTX, Bitcoin.com, BitMart, and WEEX from providing digital asset services within the AIFC jurisdiction without authorization.
The ruling was initiated by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), and the court made a default judgment on September 15, initially covering seven platforms; LBank was removed from the list after voluntarily blocking access from Kazakhstan, while the remaining six are still restricted.
The injunction prohibits the aforementioned platforms from offering, promoting, or marketing unauthorized digital asset services within the AIFC region or targeting users located in that area, and restricts the distribution of related mobile applications through any platform; Google and Apple, as app store operators, will also be subject to geographic restrictions upon delivery.
AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova stated that this decision is the result of ongoing actions by the regulatory and enforcement teams, which had previously issued warnings to over 20 platforms in 2025; of these, 9 voluntarily restricted app access, and 7 expressed intent to apply for licenses.
This restriction applies only to the AIFC and its users, not as a nationwide ban; the AIFC has an independent legal framework requiring that digital asset services provided within its territory must obtain the appropriate licenses, as unauthorized operations lack protections for asset security, information disclosure, and dispute resolution.
The court ruled that the defendants must jointly pay approximately 1.995 million tenge in litigation costs; AFSA emphasized that unauthorized activities undermine the integrity of the regulatory framework and create unfair competition for compliant licensed participants.
From a market mechanism perspective, the regulatory ban is event-driven, potentially shifting funds and users from unlicensed platforms to licensed entities or those intending to apply for licenses; the beneficiaries are compliant digital asset service providers operating within the AIFC, while the pressured parties are the six platforms restricted from app distribution and service provision and their user traffic in the region.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Kazakhstan has established an independent financial center legal system through the AIFC, historically taking enforcement actions against unauthorized digital asset activities, including website blocking and warnings; this default judgment continues its path of licensing digital asset services, with AFSA having issued compliance notices to over 20 platforms in 2025.
The capital pathway involves regulators using court injunctions to limit services and app distribution of unlicensed platforms while retaining the application channel for licenses; the motivation is to protect the compliance cost advantages of licensed participants and guide users and transaction volumes to entities subject to AML/CFT, customer due diligence, and regulatory oversight.
This is similar to the regional restrictions imposed by financial centers like Singapore and Dubai on unauthorized crypto platforms, or early enforcement actions against internet currency exchange websites; it is currently transitioning from warnings to judicial injunctions, with some platforms choosing to exit voluntarily or apply for licenses.
Essentially, this represents a shift in regulation and pricing power: by requiring licenses, the access rights to digital asset services are concentrated among regulated entities, with the mechanism excluding unauthorized activities due to a lack of mandatory protections, thereby granting licensed institutions pricing and trust advantages in asset security and dispute resolution, while unlicensed platforms face app removals and user losses.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Licenses are the entry threshold; lack of a license is a reason for exclusion.
Warnings precede injunctions; voluntary exit is less costly than a default judgment.
The scope of regulation determines market boundaries; financial centers only protect compliant traffic.