Kazakhstan Makes History: Launches Central Asia’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF

Kazakhstan just flipped the script—becoming the first Central Asian nation to greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF. No more synthetic proxies or futures-backed workarounds; this is the real deal, giving investors direct exposure to BTC’s wild ride.

Why it matters: While Wall Street still debates custody risks, Astana’s regulators shrugged and built the on-ramp. Now institutional money can flow into crypto without the usual ‘but the SEC said—’ handwringing.

The kicker? This ETF launches as Bitcoin claws back from its 2024 slump—proving once again that crypto moves faster than bureaucracy. And yes, traditional finance folks are already calling it ‘reckless.’ (Says the industry that brought you 2008.)

Region-First

In a news outlet for Kazakhstan and Central Asia, Fonte Capital, an investment manager based in Astana, the capital of the country, announced the launch of the Fonte bitcoin exchange Traded Fund OEIC (BETF), which will trade on the Astana International Exchange (AIX).

The fund will be priced in USD and backed by Bitcoin, offering institutions and investors regulated and secure access to the primary cryptocurrency.

The fund’s custodian will be BitGo Trust, an American corporation that manages up to $250 million in capital. The bitcoins are in cold wallets, which are placed in secure vaults. These are safety precautions to thwart any hacking attempts or risks from counterparties, AIX commented on a press release.

It’s designed to maintain low fees and minimize the risk of price mismatches compared to bitcoin’s price. Local or international investors can purchase shares of the BETF fund through AIX, without needing to manage private keys or interact with cryptocurrency exchanges.

The fund is under the jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which provides the legal framework for digital assets in the Central Asian Region.

The largest landlocked country in the world is now joining peers such as the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong in approving and operating spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs), solidifying its position as a regional pioneer in Web3 finance.

Kazakhstan’s establishment of the fund comes at a time when Bitcoin ETFs are seeing immense interest from institutions, governments, and everyday investors. According to data from Coinglass as of the time of writing, these financial instruments have a market capitalization of over $160 billion, having been live for approximately a year and a half.

An Emerging Market

While not as impressive as the development in Kazakhstan, several other countries in the region are exploring cryptocurrencies and their use cases.

Uzbekistan, for example, has jumped a total of 54 spots to rank 33rd in last year’s Global Crypto Adoption report from Chainalysis. Additionally, crypto mining and trading have been legalized and made tax-free by decree since 2018.

Notably, in Kyrgyzstan, bitcoin is treated as a commodity, with buying, selling, and mining allowed under regulation.