Kazakhstan central bank sets aside $350M for crypto investments

Central bank creates crypto portfolio

Kazakhstan’s central bank, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, has created a portfolio of up to 350 million United States dollars from its gold and foreign exchange reserves. Officials plan to invest this money in assets linked to cryptocurrencies beginning in spring 2026, with the first transactions expected in April or May. Governor Timur Suleimenov presented the plan as part of the management of national reserves. The bank has described this portfolio as one element within its overall reserves management, alongside existing holdings of gold and foreign currency.

Focus on indirect crypto exposure

The central bank aims for indirect exposure to digital assets instead of large direct purchases of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether. The planned portfolio will include shares of high technology companies that work with digital assets and cryptocurrency infrastructure. It will also include investment funds and index products whose price movements follow crypto markets. Deputy chair Aliya Moldabekova explained that the bank is selecting companies that handle digital assets rather than building a reserve mainly from cryptocurrencies themselves.

"We are not talking about any large investment in cryptocurrencies. We are currently selecting companies that deal with digital assets, for example, those involved in cryptocurrency infrastructure." — Aliya Moldabekova, Deputy Chair, National Bank of Kazakhstan

Earlier work on crypto reserves

The current portfolio builds on earlier work on a national crypto reserve in Kazakhstan. In June 2025, Governor Suleimenov said that international practice allows a state crypto reserve to use confiscated crypto assets and coins mined by a miner partially owned by the government. Reports in early 2026 describe a fund that holds such seized digital assets. Officials also discussed a possible separate reserve fund worth between 500 million and 1 billion United States dollars, focused on exchange-traded funds and companies connected to cryptocurrencies. These plans indicate that Kazakhstan’s authorities are testing ways to include crypto-related instruments inside official reserves.