Summary
- Tether has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority to develop a pilot project for a stablecoin linked to the tenge and a framework for asset tokenization.
- This initiative follows Kazakhstan's central bank's allocation of up to $350 million for crypto-related investments in March, with a reported national crypto reserve now totaling $700 million as of September.
- The agreement comes shortly after a Senate subcommittee report regarding the use of USDT linked to Iran and a lawsuit concerning a $2.76 million Tether asset freeze.
Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin globally, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with both the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority. This agreement aims to explore the potential for a stablecoin pegged to Kazakhstan's currency, the tenge.
The primary focus of the memorandum is to study how other nations issue stablecoins and to develop a concept and pilot proposal, although it does not clarify which entity will issue the stablecoin.
Regarding tokenization—transforming ownership of tangible assets like real estate or bonds into digital tokens on a blockchain—the involved parties will identify priority asset categories, create a model, and implement a pilot project in Alatau, potentially utilizing Tether's Hadron tokenization platform, which was launched in November 2024. There is no specified timeline for launching either pilot.
As a memorandum outlines the intentions of the parties involved, it serves more as a preliminary agreement rather than a binding contract. The arrangement will also include workshops designed to educate central bank personnel on the processes of issuing tokens, managing reserves, and tokenizing assets.
Alatau is envisioned as a smart city in the Almaty region, constructed from the ground up with its own regulatory framework and aimed at becoming a fintech center for Central Asia. The ambitious $7.2 billion project is projected to expand from 52,000 residents to two million, with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev advocating for cryptocurrency as a medium for transactions within the city.
In March, the central bank designated up to $350 million for investments linked to cryptocurrencies, drawing from its nearly $70 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves. This funding is expected to support investments in crypto-related companies and index funds rather than directly in cryptocurrencies themselves.
In September, officials indicated that the national crypto reserve has now reached $700 million, with approximately $200 million already invested, primarily through hedge funds that serve large investors.
Kazakhstan has already initiated a tenge-backed stablecoin pilot named Evo, which launched in September 2025 within the regulatory sandbox of the central bank—an environment designed for testing new financial innovations. This pilot was issued by the Intebix exchange and Eurasian Bank, with support from Solana and Mastercard, though the central bank regulates the sandbox rather than issuing the stablecoin itself.
The National Bank also plans to tokenize two properties in Alatau, with estimated values of $50 million and $10 million, to be completed by the end of 2026, utilizing the infrastructure of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange.