The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) confirmed on October 20, 2026 that the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Court has ordered Apple and Google to geo-block the apps of several unlicensed digital-asset platforms in Kazakhstan.
The September 15, 2026 court order named BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase, LBank and WEEX. LBank was later removed from the proceedings after voluntarily blocking access to its platform in Kazakhstan on September 18, 2026. The remaining six platforms continue to face court-ordered restrictions.
AFSA said the ruling followed extensive supervision and enforcement efforts. In 2025, more than 20 platforms received written warnings about AIFC regulatory requirements. Nine voluntarily restricted their applications and had claims dropped, while seven indicated plans to apply for licenses. The regulator stressed that users of unlicensed platforms do not benefit from required protections covering asset custody, information disclosure and complaints handling.
The court found that operating without authorization damages the AIFC framework and creates unfair competition for licensed players that carry AML and customer due diligence costs. Kazakhstan has been actively pulling crypto activity onshore. Its regulated market has grown more than 30-fold in three years, topping $10 billion, and the country has granted private crypto holders a tax exemption to encourage use of domestic venues.
The move against Coinbase adds to a previous block on its website in November 2023 under Kazakhstan’s Law on Digital Assets, which bars unlicensed crypto trading outside the AIFC. That earlier block was largely ineffective because users could still access sites through VPNs. The new action targets app stores directly, following a similar tactic used by Japan’s Financial Services Agency in 2025 against Bybit, MEXC, LBank, KuCoin and Bitget, and by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit against unregistered offshore exchanges.
While Coinbase and HTX appear on the same list, the AFSA has not accused Coinbase of conduct similar to the issues cited against HTX, which has faced UK and EU sanctions over suspected Russian funds flowing through the exchange. Kazakhstan’s regulators say the injunctions are about enforcing licensing compliance rather than broader allegations against every named platform.
