Kyrgyz MP wants national crypto

Kyrgyz member of parliament (MP) Karim Khanjeza called for the legalization of cryptocurrency in the country during a parliamentary committee meeting on law and order and combating corruption.

During his speech, MP Khanjeza advocated for developing a legal framework for the crypto market and suggested amendments to the draft law to incorporate virtual assets. He said, “nothing is growing as fast as cryptocurrency.”

He added that their country is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the growing crypto popularity and suggested launching their own national cryptocurrency. He said the government should focus on developing a sovereign national digital currency overlooked by the National Bank, reported a local daily.

He also advocated for building a crypto hub in the nation by onboarding highly qualified specialists in this field, a strategy followed by the likes of the UAE to become a regional hub for the growing crypto market.

The Central Asian nation has positioned itself as one of the crypto-friendly nations with significant progress in regulating the market. Bitcoin is considered a commodity and allowed to mine and transact under commodity laws.

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In August 2021, the government introduced a national crypto framework for crypto exchanges, giving them legal status in the country. However, there are no laws to regulate the circulation of cryptocurrencies and there is only the draft law “on the turnover of cryptocurrencies” suggested by the National Bank.

The Kyrgyz government started working towards regulating the crypto mining industry as early as 2020, however, the growing energy crisis aided by illegal crypto mining has led to several crackdowns last year. Most of the pro-crypto mining nations including Kazakhstan and Iran had faced similar energy crises due to illegal crypto mining