The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Court has issued injunctions against Coinbase and five other cryptocurrency platforms for offering unlicensed services within the jurisdiction. The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) identified BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase, and WEEX as subject to the orders, which prohibit marketing and distributing mobile apps for digital asset services in the center.
LBank was removed from the order on September 18 after addressing regulatory concerns by blocking access to its services in Kazakhstan. The court entered a default judgment against the remaining non-responsive platforms on October 20, following enforcement efforts that began with warnings to over 20 platforms in 2025 and subsequent court proceedings in early 2026.
Key facts
- The injunctions apply strictly to users located within the AIFC and do not extend across the rest of Kazakhstan.
- Google and Apple are bound as app-store operators, though no separate injunction was issued against them at this stage.
- Justice Sir Stephen Richards issued the judgment on September 15, 2026, clarifying the geographic scope of the restrictions.
- AFSA stated that LBank resolved compliance issues by blocking access, leading to its removal from the order.
- The court entered judgment by default against the other platforms after they failed to respond within the required period.
Why it matters
The ruling establishes that crypto firms must obtain a license to offer services within the AIFC, a financial hub operating under its own legal framework and regulator.