Kazakhstan Shuts 22 Shadow Crypto Exchanges, Freezes 20K Cards in Crackdown

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Financial Monitoring shut down 22 unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges and blocked more than 1,100 illegal online crypto services in 2025, AFM Chairman Zhanat Elimanov reported during a Jan. 12 meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Authorities also froze approximately 20,000 bank cards used to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and fraud. Investigators completed 1,135 criminal cases last year and secured compensation of 141.5 billion tenge (approximately $277 million) ...