‘Crypto Card’ Initiative Was Revealed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan
The National Bank of Kazakhstan revealed that it will implement crypto cards soon as one of its digital assets’ integration projects.
This retail payments initiative is only one of the projects meant to boost regulated digital finance in the country. The implementation was discussed in a meeting between representatives of banks, crypto exchanges, and fintech companies.
This initiative would allow payment card users to make non-cash transactions connected to wallets in digital asset service licensed providers. The plan came as one of the many projects meant to grow regulated digital finance.
The New Crypto Card Initiative
On June 2, 2025, the National Bank of Kazakhstan had a meeting with representatives of fintech organizations, crypto exchanges, and banks. They discussed implementing different projects to establish innovative financial services that focused on digital asset tokenization. The “crypto cards” project implementation was launched during the meeting.
This is only one of the multiple projects planned by the landlocked country with a population of around 20 million people.
The cryptocurrency card initiative allows consumers to link a licensed crypto wallet to a traditional payment card. Then, they can start making retail payments in cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, merchants will receive their payments in the country’s fiat currency, respectively the tenge.
According to a statement from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, this project will offer the possibility to integrate digital asset turnover into the existing payment structure in a safe way.
The NBK’s official press release mentioned that the mechanism that backs up crypto cards involves the user’s digital asset real-time sale on the AIFC cryptocurrency market when the transaction starts. Immediately, the equivalent fiat value is credited to the card.
Regulatory Sandbox Experimentation
In a LinkedIn post, National Bank of Kazakhstan chief digital officer Binur Zhalenov spoke about the new crypto card initiative.
“Merchants receive tenge, while users get a seamless payment experience with digital assets — no new infrastructure required,” he said.
According to Zhalenov, the planned tenge-backed stablecoin pilots and other plans will be run through the regulatory sandbox of the bank, which is a test space. He also mentioned the “scalable fiat-crypto gateways across the country” and the “web3 infrastructure and DAO experiments”.
“These initiatives reflect our ambition to create a safe, inclusive, and forward-looking digital finance ecosystem, aligned with the best international practices and tailored to Kazakhstan’s needs,” Zhalenov also said.
Other Pilot Projects on Digital Assets
Crypto cards are not the only initiative in the financial sector. Market participants also have other pilot projects planned under the National Bank’s coordination. Some of these include:
- Financial and real-estate tokenization
- Organization of services for crypto asset exchange transactions and storage of cryptocurrency assets
- Stablecoins issue secured by the national currency for digital asset settlement transactions
- Organizing accounting systems as well as digital financial assets collateral storage
The new crypto card initiative will change the landscape for both consumers and businesses. Once available, it will revolutionize the financial sector of the country.
