“This includes not only cryptocurrency itself,” National Bank of Kazakhstan Governor Governor Timur Suleimenov reportedly said, while taking questions on the central bank’s latest interest rate decision. “We are currently developing a list of instruments in which we will invest.”
Derived from the Central Asian country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, which totaled nearly $70 billion as of Feb. 1, the initiative marks an effort to diversify away from traditional stores as value using a relatively small amount of capital.
The investments will span “shares of high-tech companies related to cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets, index funds, and other instruments that exhibit similar dynamics to crypto assets,” suggesting that the central bank may not hold digital assets in their native form.
Decrypt has reached out to the National Bank of Kazakhstan for comment.
Kazakhstan’s national fund, established decades ago to manage oil-sale revenue, was valued at $65.23 billion at the start of last month. And the central bank’s investments in crypto could begin as late as May, per Reuters, which cited Deputy Governor Aliya Moldabekova.
“We are currently selecting companies that deal with digital assets. For example, those involved in cryptocurrency infrastructure,” she said. “We are currently in the process of selecting such companies.”
At the time, he tied the country’s efforts to Alatau City, a so-called smart city featuring massive towers that aims to reach a population of 2 million residents by 2050.
“Alatau City should become the first fully digitalized city in the region," Tokayev said, underscoring a desire for “technologies to pay for goods and services with cryptocurrency.”
