Kraken Parent Payward Wins Preliminary Approval to Enter Kazakhstan
- —AFSA granted preliminary, not final, approval; Payward must meet remaining requirements
- —Payward Kazakhstan would offer trading, investment dealing and custody in the AIFC
- —Kazakhstan held about 18% of global BTC hashrate in 2021, now 1.6%
- —Once licensed, Kazakh clients gain access to Kraken's global liquidity
Why it matters: A major exchange is entering a market shifting from mining to regulated digital assets, intensifying competition in Central Asia.
Source: Bitcoin.com