Kazakhstan is bringing its financial system closer to crypto. The country’s National Bank, Tether and the Alatau city administration have signed an agreement to study a stablecoin backed by tenge, the national currency. The project first provides a concept and a pilot. The partners also want to tokenize real assets potentially using Tether’s Hadron platform. No new stablecoins have been launched yet.
In brief
- Kazakhstan is working with Tether on a tenge-backed stablecoin.
- A tokenization pilot project is also to be launched in Alatau.
- Tether’s Hadron platform could serve as infrastructure.
Kazakhstan prepares a new crypto project with Tether
The agreement was signed on October 7 between Tether, the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority. The three partners want to study several international models for issuing stablecoins, identify possible uses and prepare a pilot proposal for a tenge-backed crypto. Tether therefore does not immediately become the issuer of a new Kazakh digital currency. The work begins with the design.
The country already knows this terrain. In September 2025, the National Bank of Kazakhstan launched the stablecoin Evo, or KZTE, on Solana. The project was developed in its regulatory environment with Eurasian Bank, Mastercard and Intebix.
The new cooperation with Tether goes further. It must also determine how to integrate stablecoins into local financial infrastructures, while working on reserves, transaction transparency and investor protection. Kazakhstan is therefore accumulating experiences. Not just with Bitcoin or exchanges. With its own currency too.
Hadron must be used to tokenize real assets
The stablecoin is only part of the deal. Tether and the National Bank also want to build a framework for the tokenization of real assets. Several asset categories must be identified before creating a model and then a crypto pilot project in the special jurisdiction of Alatau.
The Hadron by Tether platform could be used. Hadron allows you to create and manage different tokenized assets. Tether has already positioned it beyond its historical activity around USDT, with possible uses for bonds, commodities, funds or other financial assets.
This diversification accompanies a broader debate in finance. In August, Tether was already challenging the Bank’s vision of international settlements on stablecoins and tokenized deposits.
Kazakhstan now wants to directly experiment with this crypto infrastructure. Workshops and training are also planned for specialists from the central bank and several public organizations. They will focus on the issuance of stablecoins, reserve management, digital asset markets and tokenization using distributed ledgers.
Alatau will serve as a testing ground. The city has a special legal regime intended in particular to attract technological and financial companies.
Kazakhstan accelerates its crypto strategy
This new alliance does not constitute an isolated turn. Kazakhstan has been multiplying projects around digital assets for several years. After occupying an important place in Bitcoin mining, the country is now working on stablecoins, regulated infrastructure and public investments in crypto.
In 2025, the government had already created the Alem crypto fund with a first investment in BNB. The National Bank is adopting a similar approach here: experimenting under control before possible wider deployment.
Binur Zhalenov, vice-governor of the institution, also insists on three priorities: financial stability, transparency of transactions and protection of investors. Tether, for its part, brings its experience in stablecoins and tokenization.
The project will now need to move from MoU to pilot. No launch date for the tenge-backed stablecoin has been announced. Its name, blockchain and exact reserve model are not yet known either. Kazakhstan therefore chose Tether to explore the next step. The stablecoin still remains to be built.
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