National Bank of Kazakhstan and Binance sign memorandum to develop regional settlement hub

September 7, 2026 at 10:36 AM2 min

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The National Bank of Kazakhstan and Binance Investments Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on September 7, 2026 to develop a regional settlement hub in Kazakhstan. The hub will serve international payments and digital asset transactions for Binance clients in Central Asia, the CIS, and Eastern Europe. The project follows legislative reforms that introduced a new category of payment organization.

Key Facts

The memorandum was signed by Deputy Chairman of the National Bank Binur Zhalenov and Binance regional development head Kirill Khomyakov.
The hub will serve clients from Central Asia, the CIS, and Eastern Europe.
Binance plans to obtain a license from the National Bank as a first-category payment organization.
The project will transfer part of Binance's regional operations to Kazakhstan.

Signing Ceremony

The memorandum was signed by Deputy Chairman of the National Bank Binur Zhalenov and Kirill Khomyakov, head of regional development and operations at Binance's global office. The ceremony was attended by National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. The signing took place on September 7, 2026, according to the National Bank's press service.

Hub Scope and Operations

The hub will handle international payments, money transfers, and settlements for digital asset operations. It will serve clients of the global Binance group from Central Asia, the CIS, and Eastern Europe. The project involves creating a Binance group organization in Kazakhstan and obtaining a license as a first-category payment organization. A significant portion of regional clients will be served through the Kazakh jurisdiction.

Regulatory Reforms

The National Bank stated that the project became possible due to legislative reforms regulating digital asset turnover. These reforms introduced a new financial market entity: the first-category payment organization. The changes aim to increase competition by allowing global companies to offer innovative payment and financial services alongside banks. Binance is one of the first global companies to implement a project under the new regulation.