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Kazakh regulators have blocked over 3,500 illegally operating crypto exchanges

Kazakh watchdog AFM RK has announced that authorities have blocked more than 3,500 cryptocurrency exchanges operating illegally. The action is the result of a joint effort by the National Security Council and the Ministry of Cultural Information. Previously, authorities also blocked access to Coinbase in 2023 for suspected violations of digital asset laws. In 2024, the regulator liquidated 36 illegal cryptocurrency exchanges with a total transaction value of 60 billion Kazakh tenge (about $113 million) and froze assets worth 4.8 million USDT. Additionally, the authorities uncovered two cryptocurrency pyramid schemes that returned 545,000 USDT to victims and froze 120,000 USDT held by the platforms.