The Central Bank of Kazakhstan is considering purchasing cryptocurrencies with gold and foreign exchange reserves

On November 5, Berik Sholpankulov, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, revealed that the regulator may invest government-controlled funds as well as part of the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves in cryptocurrencies. Sholpankulov made the announcement in the lower house of the Kazakh parliament, where he was answering questions from members of the legislature. The lawmakers specifically asked him to explain how the reserve will work, how the funds will be accumulated, and whether the country's central bank will buy and sell digital currencies for profit. Sholpankulov reminded Kazakh lawmakers that the government is currently working on establishing a national cryptocurrency reserve. He detailed that cryptoassets confiscated in criminal cases will be mainly allocated to this new fund and kept as a strategic reserve, while other options for replenishing the reserve are also being discussed, such as considering using some of the assets in the state fund and gold foreign exchange reserves to invest in cryptoassets.