Kazakhstan will integrate its CBDC on Binance’s BNB Chain, CZ reveals

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (also known online as CZ) has revealed that the company’s team has reached an agreement with the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) to have the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) integrated into the BNB Chain.

CZ said in a tweet that the agreement is a result of Binance’s relentless push for crypto adoption globally. The team introduced the Binance-created blockchain — BNB Chain — to the First Deputy of the Governor of the NBK, Berik Sholpankulov, and the Head of Payment and Technological Center, Binur Zhalenov. 

The Central Asian country’s central bank has been working on the digital tenge as the CBDC is called for a while now. It recently launched a pilot to test the CBDC in a controlled environment and with real consumers and merchants with the involvement of the country’s largest commercial banks — Kaspi Bank JSC and Eurasian Bank JSC.

The NBK says it hopes to reach a final decision on launching the CBDC by the end of 2022. However, CZ noted that he is looking forward to integrating the CBDC into BNB Chain. 

“Looking forward to NBK preparing CBDC use cases to see how they could be integrated into BNB Chain to bridge the gap between traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem,” he wrote.

Binance deepening ties with regulators globally 

Binance recently got a “permanent license” to operate a digital asset platform and provide custody services in Kazakhstan. The license gives Binance the status of a regulated platform, allowing the exchange to process deposits and withdrawals of fiat money, conversion of cryptocurrencies, and offer storage and exchange of crypto assets.

Binance also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan to help the country fight financial crime. The deal is part of the company’s Law Enforcement Training Program (LETP), which it has implemented in France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Norway, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, and Israel.

Kazakhstan, which has become a major crypto mining hotspot following China’s ban on the activity, is not the only country Binance has made significant inroads into this year. The world’s largest exchange by trading volume launched in Bahrain just this month after getting Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) back in May 2022.

Binance has also secured licenses to operate in Dubai, New Zealand, and Cyprus, while also seeking permission to return to operating in Japan, according to a Bloomberg report.