Kazakhstan Limits Crypto Investment for Retail Players: Report

Kazakhstan has limited the amount of money local retail investors can put into crypto, domestic news website Kapital.kz reported on Wednesday.

• The AFSA confirmed the news to CoinDesk via email later on Thursday.
• Retail investors can invest 10% of their annual income or 5% of their total assets, excluding their main residence, up to $100,000 per year as long as they provide evidence of their finances to the regulator, the site reported.
• Should investors not provide any evidence of their finances, they can invest up to $1,000 per month, according to Kapital.kz, which said it attained the information from the Astana Financial Services Agency (AFSA) directly.
• The limits have been introduced to protect retail investors from crypto-related “high risks” that can include the complete loss of capital, the AFSA told Kapital.kz.
• The AFSA has also created a roadmap to develop the crypto market in the country. Under the plan, crypto exchanges will operate as a pilot starting at the end of 2021 and for one year.
• The rules set by the AFSA took effect on Oct. 26, the report said.
• The agreed rules are harsher than those proposed by the Astana International Finance Center (AIFC) earlier, according to Kapital.kz. An AIFC committee had proposed a monthly limit of $2,000 for retail investors.
• Kazakhstan has seen a massive influx of crypto miners since China started a crackdown on the crypto mining industry in May. The country is facing severe electricity shortages, in part because of the influx of miners, and is planning to limit the electricity consumption of new mines.

Read more: Kazakhstan to Limit Power for Crypto Mining to 100 MW Nationwide

UPDATE (NOV. 5 5:53 UTC): Adds AFSA confirmation in first bullet.