Казахстан запускает первый в Центральной Азии биткоин-ETF, ставший шагом к финансовой независимости Translation: Kazakhstan launches the first Bitcoin ETF in Central Asia, marking a step towards financial independence.

On August 13, trading commenced for the first spot Bitcoin ETF in Central Asia, trading under the ticker BETF, at the Astana International Exchange (AIX). This was announced in a press release from Fonte Capital, the investment firm behind the fund.

The initial issuance volume was set at 40,000 shares, each priced at $25. In the early hours post-launch, BETF peaked at $25.97, but by the end of trading, the price had fallen to $25.88.

Investors conducted a total of 87 transactions amounting to $69,391.

BETF is fully backed by digital gold stored with the American custodian BitGo, which services the largest Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds in the U.S., ensuring cold storage and insurance coverage up to $250 million.

The new fund is registered with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), eliminating reliance on foreign issuers and reducing the risk of fund freezes in the event of international sanctions.

Support for BETF comes from licensed AIFC participants, including Freedom Broker as a market maker, as well as Bybit Limited, ATAIX Eurasia Ltd, and BN KZ Technologies Limited (Binance).

BitGo’s role as a custodian has sparked mixed reactions. According to Shadi El Damati, co-founder of the platform human.tech, while this will foster immediate trust among investors, it also emphasizes dependence on global players.

«Ideally, countries should develop local custodians that meet international security standards. This way, you don’t just import financial infrastructure, but create it domestically, ensuring both market sovereignty and resilience,» he commented to Cointelegraph.

Kazakh expert Bakhram Saidulloyev agreed that the country will eventually need its own solutions akin to BitGo. However, for now, utilizing a proven custodian is the quickest way to attract foreign capital.

It is worth noting that in May, AIX, the Solana Foundation, liquidity aggregator Jupiter, and the licensed trading platform Intebix signed a memorandum of understanding. The aim of this collaboration is to develop a mechanism for dual listing for companies going public.