Kazakhstan Shuts Down 19 Bitcoin Exchanges with Over $60 Million Turnover

Since the beginning of 2024, special units of Kazakhstan’s AFM have dismantled 19 cryptocurrency exchanges with a turnover exceeding $60 million. Representatives of the agency reported this during a meeting of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units (CHFIU).

As part of the investigation, law enforcement froze digital assets valued at $1.2 million.

During this period, the Agency’s specialists also blocked 5500 illegal online exchanges operating without a license.

Nine cases have been registered against “grey” miners, with nearly 4000 cryptocurrency mining devices seized.

Participants in the meeting noted the growing risks of using digital assets for criminal purposes and agreed to join forces in improving methods to counter new threats.

The agreement to establish the CHFIU was signed in December 2012 by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

Earlier, ForkLog reported that the AFM had recovered assets worth $500,000 from the Eolus bitcoin pyramid scheme and shut down a mining farm with an income of $300,000 over two years.

As reported in August, Kazakh authorities had curbed illegal cryptocurrency operations worth $75.4 million.