A court in Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Centre has barred six crypto platforms from offering digital-asset services in the AIFC without licenses and has expanded the restrictions to mobile app distribution.

According to the regulator, the order applies to BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global, also known as HTX, BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX. Google and Apple, as app-store operators, must also implement geographic restrictions on access to those services in Kazakhstan.

Order amended after one platform restricted access

The court order was issued on Sept. 15 and originally named seven platforms: BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global, BitMart, Coinbase, LBank and WEEX. An amendment issued three days later removed LBank from the list after its operator blocked access in Kazakhstan.

That left six platforms subject to the injunction. The regulator said the measures are aimed at platforms it says were offering digital-asset services in the jurisdiction without the required authorization.

AFSA says unlicensed users lack key protections

The Astana Financial Services Authority, or AFSA, said customers using unlicensed platforms do not receive the safeguards required of licensed firms in the AIFC framework. It listed protections including asset protection, disclosure standards, complaints handling and dispute resolution.

AFSA CEO Evgeniya Bogdanova said the ruling followed what she described as sustained work by the authority’s supervision and enforcement teams against platforms allegedly advertising without authorization and providing digital-asset services in Kazakhstan without permission.

More than 20 platforms were warned in 2025

AFSA said it warned more than 20 platforms during 2025 about the AIFC’s licensing requirements. The authority said nine later restricted app access in Kazakhstan voluntarily, and seven indicated that they intended to apply for licenses.

After those voluntary restrictions, AFSA withdrew its claims against the nine platforms. The court-backed injunctions are set to be enforced against the six platforms that remained in the case.

What the decision means next

The immediate confirmed step is enforcement of the injunctions against the remaining six services, including app-store level geographic restrictions through Google and Apple. The decision also clarifies that digital-asset firms serving the AIFC must hold the appropriate authorization there.

AFSA noted that Kazakhstan’s National Bank oversees digital-asset service providers operating outside the AIFC. That leaves the country’s crypto oversight split by jurisdiction, with the latest court action focused specifically on activity within the AIFC framework.

Source: cointelegraph.com