Kazakhstan Bans Coinbase and Five Other International Crypto Exchanges Over Missing MFCA Licenses

The Astana International Financial Centre court has barred six crypto platforms from offering digital-asset services in Kazakhstan: BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase, and WEEX. For PSPs and payment teams, the point is simple: the country is enforcing local licensing requirements and is now extending that pressure to app distribution as well.

1. The court said operators of crypto services can work in Kazakhstan only with an MFCA license, and these six platforms do not have one. The order prohibits them from offering, advertising, or distributing services related to digital assets in the country.
2. The initial list included seven platforms, with LBank also named. LBank later blocked access to its services in Kazakhstan on its own, so it was removed from the final list.
3. The order also affects Google and Apple as mobile app marketplace operators. They are instructed to enforce geographic restrictions so users in Kazakhstan cannot access the apps of the listed crypto platforms.
4. Over the past year, the Astana International Financial Centre’s Financial Services Regulatory Committee (AFSA) sent written warnings to more than 20 crypto platforms, saying it is forbidden to operate in the republic without a license. Only nine voluntarily restricted access to their apps in Kazakhstan through Google Play and the Apple App Store, according to the MFCA, which did not name them.
5. In April, AFSA warned that OKX, HTX, Bitget, and MEXC could also face restrictions in Kazakhstan because they did not have licenses. The new court order shows those warnings were not just decorative paperwork.