Криптоинновации в Центральной Азии: Кыргызстан и Казахстан создают биткоин-резервы, Беларусь стремится стать криптохабом Crypto Innovations in Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Create Bitcoin Reserves, Belarus Aims to Become a Crypto Hub

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have made progress towards establishing national Bitcoin reserves, while Belarus has announced the acceleration of cryptocurrency adoption. The Winklevoss twins’ Gemini has gone public on Nasdaq, among other notable events of the past week.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, continued its upward trajectory, with its price exceeding $116,500 by the end of the workweek. However, it experienced a correction over the weekend, settling around $115,500.

Most analysts expect a bullish trend following the Federal Reserve’s meeting scheduled for September 16-17. Market participants are confident in the regulator’s decision to lower the key interest rate, historically favorable for riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. Yet, some traders believe this development may already be reflected in current prices.

Over the week, Bitcoin’s value rose by 4.1%. Major altcoins outperformed Bitcoin in terms of growth, with Dogecoin increasing by 31.5% and Solana by 20.8%.

Ethereum and XRP also appreciated by 7.6% and 8.2%, respectively.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has risen to $4.15 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance decreasing from 56.4% to 55.6% over the week. In contrast, Ethereum’s dominance increased from 13.2% to 13.5%.

According to CoinMarketCap, the altcoin season index climbed to 66 points, up from 53 a week ago, inching closer to the critical threshold of 75 out of 100.

The cryptocurrency fear and greed index moved from a neutral position to a score of 55, indicating «moderate greed.»

Kazakhstan plans to establish a state fund for digital assets aimed at building a strategic cryptocurrency reserve, as announced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The fund will be established within the framework of the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s investment corporation, and authorities have included this initiative in a list of directives to foster a digital asset ecosystem.

Tokayev also tasked the cabinet and the National Bank with creating an investment program for high-tech sectors amounting to up to $1 billion.

A significant milestone will be the adoption of a banking law by year-end that will aim to liberalize the circulation of digital assets and promote fintech.

The president announced the launch of the Al-Sana program, which intends to engage up to 100,000 students in high-tech projects. Schools will have educational materials developed on the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, with teachers receiving specialized training in AI tools.

«The formation of AI competencies should begin in school,» stated the president of Kazakhstan.

The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved the «On Virtual Assets» bill, which regulates the cryptocurrency market in the country, in three readings.

The document outlines the primary types of assets, specifically highlighting fiat-backed stablecoins and Real World Assets (RWA) tokens.

The president now has the authority to set the rules for issuing, circulating, and regulating cryptocurrencies. Regulatory «sandboxes» are being introduced for testing innovative services and technologies.

The bill also involves the creation of a state cryptocurrency reserve and the initiation of mining using government infrastructure and resources, with participants required to register and meet hardware requirements.

On September 12, the Winklevoss twins’ cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini, conducted its IPO, raising $425 million.

The trading platform sold 15.18 million Class A shares at a price of $28, which exceeded the planned range of $24 to $26. The shares traded under the ticker GEMI on Nasdaq, backed by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Cantor.

Underwriters received a 30-day option to purchase an additional 750,000 shares for oversubscription. Nasdaq acquired securities worth $50 million in a private placement, reserving up to 10% of the offering for insiders and long-term Gemini users. Retail investors were allocated up to 30% of shares through platforms like Robinhood, SoFi, and Webull.

According to Bloomberg, the Winklevoss twins will retain 94.5% of voting rights after the IPO. The cryptocurrency exchange applied for its initial public offering in March.

Reuters reported significant enthusiasm among investors, with applications submitted 20 times greater than available shares.

By the end of the debut trading session, the company’s shares rose to $32, representing a 14.3% increase from the opening price. The capitalization reached $3.8 billion, with shares peaking at $45.9, pushing the company’s value to $4.4 billion.

On September 9, President Alexander Lukashenko met with the National Bank’s apparatus and the leadership of credit institutions, emphasizing the need for commercial financial entities to adopt digital assets more actively to secure external payments.

«In the past five years, the economy and the Belarusian banking sector have faced unprecedented challenges. The government and the National Bank have been given the necessary instructions. Now, act,» he stated.

A few days prior, Lukashenko had already organized a meeting about cryptocurrencies, calling for clear and transparent rules and mechanisms to control the digital asset market, referring to the economic downturn due to sanctions from Europe and the USA.

«It is essential for us not to miss out on trends and to maintain our technological leadership. Naturally, those who set the trends receive the most significant benefits. God forbid, we manage to set this trend and avoid putting the cart before the horse,» the president remarked.

«The chosen regulatory approach cannot be described as spontaneous or trend-chasing; everything is progressing quite consistently,» added an expert.

He predicted that the upcoming legislative initiatives would «only increase the attractiveness of Belarus for both investment and innovation.»

Ignat Likhunov, founder of the legal agency Cartesius, pointed out a fundamental contradiction. On one hand, the authorities aim to create an appealing regulatory environment to attract foreign investments to the crypto sector. On the other hand, active adoption of digital assets carries risks of macroeconomic destabilization.

Regarding Belarus’s potential to become a regional crypto hub, Likhunov noted both advantages and significant barriers.

Among the clear advantages are its early regulation, tax benefits, and support for mining. Conversely, drawbacks include restrictions for regular users, such as the prohibition of P2P transactions and other stringent measures.

The company Tether is set to launch a dollar-backed and fully regulated stablecoin in the United States, called USAT.

The American division of Tether will be led by Bo Hines, the former executive director of the Cryptocurrency Advisory Council under President Donald Trump.

The stablecoin will utilize RWA technology from Tether’s Hadron platform.

The issuer, fully compliant with the GENIUS Act, will be Anchorage Digital, a federally licensed cryptocurrency bank. Cantor Fitzgerald will serve as the custodian of the reserves and primary dealer.

According to the website, participants in the Dual Staking program can earn up to 50% annually using NFT boosters from the project’s collection. The higher the rarity level of the non-fungible token, the greater the APR.

Since January 2025, UDS has risen in price from $0.08 to $1.61, showing more than a 20-fold increase. The project’s FDV has exceeded $400 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

The UDS token is traded on MEXC, Gate, and BingX exchanges, with a daily trading volume exceeding $1 million.

Undeads Games is a multi-genre gaming company focused on creating Play-to-Earn games within a post-apocalyptic universe.

The company’s flagship product is an MMORPG set in a zombie-themed environment, where players can earn cryptocurrency. The game is slated for release in October 2025, with the exact date to be announced in the coming weeks.

We explored how the landscape of payments is changing globally and the role digital assets play within it.

We reviewed the technical and legal aspects of the World Gold Council’s initiative regarding the tokenization of precious metals.

We also discussed in an interview with cryptopunk Anton Nesterov the major threats to privacy and how cryptography can counteract these threats.