Kazakhstan Court Restricts Coinbase and Five Other Crypto Platforms Within Astana Financial Centre

Six platforms face restrictions inside Kazakhstan's financial hub

Coinbase, BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart and WEEX face court orders barring them from providing or promoting unlicensed digital asset services within the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The restrictions also cover distribution of mobile applications used to deliver those services.

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), the centre's regulator, secured the injunctions after warning more than 20 cryptocurrency platforms about licensing requirements during 2025 and beginning court proceedings in early 2026. Justice Sir Stephen Richards specified that the restrictions apply to the AIFC and users located there, rather than across Kazakhstan.

The judgment is dated September 15, 2026, and the action was publicized on October 20. October 20 has also been given as the order date, but the detailed chronology identifies September 15 as the initial decision and September 18 as the date one platform, LBank, was removed.

Google and Apple are also affected as operators of mobile app stores. The court said they would be bound by the injunctions once formally notified of the judgment, while declining to issue a separate injunction against them before AFSA discussed the necessary steps with the companies.

AFSA's campaign has already prompted different responses across the industry. Nine platforms voluntarily restricted access to their apps in Kazakhstan, leading the regulator to withdraw claims against them. Seven other platforms expressed an intention to seek licenses.

What the court orders cover

The six remaining platforms are prohibited from providing, offering or advertising digital asset services within the AIFC without the required authorization. The orders also reach the distribution of, or access to, mobile applications supporting those services.

An injunction is a court order directing someone to stop or carry out a particular action. Here, the court used that power to enforce the centre's licensing rules across both the services themselves and the channels used to market and distribute them.

The court entered judgment by default because the platform operators failed to respond within the required period. A default judgment allows a case to proceed when a defendant does not take the required procedural steps to answer it.

The practical scope is local: the orders concern services offered within the AIFC and users located there. LBank's decision to block access across Kazakhstan, and similar voluntary measures by other platforms, had a wider geographical reach than the boundary described in the judgment.

Why the AIFC boundary matters

The AIFC, established in 2018 in Kazakhstan's capital, operates under a distinct legal framework based on English law. It has its own financial regulator, stock exchange and institutions for resolving disputes. Its court sits outside Kazakhstan's national judicial system.

Cryptocurrency businesses need AFSA authorization to provide regulated services within the centre. A license brings a firm under the regulator's rules and supervision, including requirements concerning customers, assets and financial crime controls.

Kazakhstan's wider legal framework has also been changing. A law adopted in November 2025 permitted the circulation of unbacked digital assets and the operation of licensed cryptocurrency exchanges nationwide. Previously, legal circulation of those assets had been limited to the AIFC.

Unbacked digital assets are assets whose value is not supported by a claim on a reserve such as cash or gold. The national changes widened the legal framework for cryptocurrency activity, while the September court action enforced the separate authorization requirements governing services within the financial centre.

How warnings became court proceedings

AFSA began its enforcement campaign with written warnings to more than 20 platforms during 2025. The regulator said those notices explained the AIFC's rules before it sought court orders against operators that continued providing unauthorized services.

Evgeniya Bogdanova, AFSA's chief executive officer, attributed the decision to the regulator's supervision and enforcement work:

"The court's decision is the result of the AFSA supervision and enforcement team's continued efforts to regulate platforms that have advertised and provided virtual-asset services in Kazakhstan without the required license," AFSA Chief Executive Officer Evgeniya Bogdanova said.

The campaign developed over several stages, including cooperation with Kazakhstan's central bank:

• 2025: AFSA sent written warnings about licensing requirements to more than 20 cryptocurrency platforms.
• November 2025: Kazakhstan adopted a law allowing wider circulation of unbacked digital assets and licensed cryptocurrency exchange activity nationwide.
• Early 2026: AFSA began court proceedings against operators that continued providing services without authorization.
• Since May 2026: AFSA has worked with the National Bank of Kazakhstan to monitor unauthorized digital asset activity.
• September 15, 2026: The AIFC Court issued the initial judgment covering seven platforms.
• September 18, 2026: LBank was removed after addressing AFSA's concerns.
• October 20, 2026: Details of the enforcement action were publicized.

AFSA had also warned in April of possible action against OKX, HTX, Bitget and MEXC over licensing. Of those four platforms, HTX appears among the six covered by the continuing injunctions described here.

Why LBank was removed

LBank was included in the initial proceedings alongside the six platforms still subject to restrictions. AFSA said its operator independently blocked access to its services in Kazakhstan, resolving the regulator's concerns and leading to its removal on September 18.

The change reduced the number of platforms covered by the initial order from seven to six. It also explains why LBank appears in descriptions of the original proceedings but is absent from the final list of platforms facing continuing injunctions.

Across the wider campaign, nine platforms voluntarily restricted access to their applications in Kazakhstan through Google Play and Apple's App Store. AFSA withdrew its lawsuits against the operators that took voluntary action.

Seven other platforms indicated that they intended to apply for AFSA licenses. Applying for authorization involves a different course from restricting access: a platform seeks permission to provide regulated services rather than withdrawing access to satisfy the regulator's concerns. An intention to apply is an initial step, with authorization dependent on the licensing process.

What Apple and Google are expected to do

Apple and Google matter because their stores provide a route through which customers find, download and update cryptocurrency applications. Restrictions on app distribution can affect access even when a platform's services are operated from another country.

The judgment says the companies will be bound by the injunctions upon service of notice. Service is the formal delivery of legal documents, giving the recipient official notice of the court's decision.

The court declined to grant a separate injunction against the two companies and directed AFSA to discuss the necessary measures with them first. Those discussions concern how the restrictions should be put into effect through the app stores.

The implementation timetable and the precise technical measures were not specified. The judgment's stated geographical scope remains the AIFC and users located there, while several platforms have chosen broader restrictions covering Kazakhstan.

What protections AFSA says customers need

AFSA said customers using unlicensed platforms lack the safeguards required of firms it authorizes. The regulator identified four areas: protection of assets, disclosure of information, handling of complaints and resolution of disputes.

Asset protection concerns the rules governing how a firm holds and safeguards money or cryptocurrency belonging to customers. Disclosure requirements concern the information a business must provide about its services, terms and risks, helping customers understand what they are agreeing to.

Complaint handling and dispute resolution provide procedures for seeking answers and pursuing a disagreement when something goes wrong. For a customer facing an account problem or a disputed transaction, those procedures can determine where to turn and how a complaint is considered.

AFSA's stated concern is that customers should receive these protections from businesses serving the financial centre. Its enforcement approach has therefore combined demands for licensing with court action and restrictions on access to unauthorized services.

Why the court also focused on competition

The court said unlicensed services undermine the AIFC's regulatory framework and disadvantage firms that pay the costs of complying with it. Licensed businesses must fund checks, controls and supervision that unauthorized competitors may avoid.

Those obligations include measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, customer due diligence and regulatory supervision. Customer due diligence means checking who a customer is and assessing the risks associated with the business relationship. The financial crime controls are intended to help identify and prevent the movement of illicit funds.

For authorized firms, the dispute therefore concerns the cost of operating under the centre's rules as well as access to customers. AFSA's position is that businesses offering regulated services in the same jurisdiction should meet the required standards.

Coinbase has faced restrictions in Kazakhstan before. Authorities blocked its website in 2023 over alleged violations of the country's digital asset law. The present proceedings concern authorization to provide services within the AIFC and extend to marketing and mobile app distribution.

The continuing injunctions leave the six named platforms facing restrictions within the centre, while the wider campaign has led other operators to limit access or express interest in licensing. For customers, the immediate effect depends on their location and the access measures implemented by each platform and app store.

Key Points

• Six platforms remain covered: Coinbase, BingX, Bitcoin.com, HTX, BitMart and WEEX.
• The September 15 judgment restricts unlicensed services, marketing and related mobile app distribution within the AIFC.
• Justice Sir Stephen Richards limited the injunctions to the financial centre and users located there.
• LBank was removed on September 18 after blocking access to its services in Kazakhstan.
• Apple and Google are to be bound once formally notified, with AFSA directed to discuss implementation with them.
• Nine platforms voluntarily restricted app access, while seven others expressed an intention to seek licenses.
• AFSA cited customer protections and fair competition with licensed firms as reasons for enforcement.