Kazakhstan Takes a Big Step in Crypto Payments

Kazakhstan is making waves in the world of digital finance. At the Digital Bridge 2025 event, Bybit Kazakhstan showed off a new way to pay using crypto. This isn't just any payment method—it's a QR code system that lets people pay with crypto in everyday places. Imagine buying your coffee with crypto as easily as you would with cash. That's the future Kazakhstan is working towards. This new system is part of a bigger plan to make crypto a normal part of daily life. Bybit Kazakhstan teamed up with the National Payment Corporation to test this QR payment method. Users can scan a QR code and pay directly from their crypto wallets. The payment is then converted into the local currency, the tenge (KZT). This makes it super easy for people to use crypto in their everyday lives. But that's not all. Kazakhstan also made history by paying a regulatory fee using stablecoins through the QR Pay system. This is a big deal because it shows that crypto can be used in official settings too. Bybit Kazakhstan worked with SkyBridge Digital Finance Ltd. to make this happen. They converted the stablecoin payment into fiat currency and sent it to the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA). This proves that crypto can be both innovative and compliant with regulations. Mazurka Zeng, Executive Director of Fiat & Pay at Bybit, said that this is a big step towards financial inclusion. He believes that crypto can make financial services more accessible to everyone. Ablaikhan Aubakir, Country Manager at Bybit Kazakhstan, also highlighted the importance of this milestone. He said that this collaboration shows how innovation can work hand in hand with strong regulations. Evgeniya Bogdanova, CEO of AFSA, added that this initiative shows Kazakhstan's commitment to driving innovation in the financial sector. She believes that this is just the beginning of a future-oriented financial ecosystem. The goal is to create a system that is secure, transparent, and adaptable to global financial changes. This new payment method is currently being tested in a regulatory sandbox. Once it's fully launched, it will be available at partner merchant locations. This will further strengthen the role of digital assets in Kazakhstan's financial ecosystem. It's an exciting time for crypto in Kazakhstan, and the world is watching to see how this develops.