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- Tether signed an agreement with Kazakhstan's central bank and Alatau City authorities to explore a tenge-backed stablecoin and asset tokenization.
- The Oct. 7 memorandum does not launch a stablecoin, and the parties will first develop a concept and study issuance models.
- Tether and Kazakh authorities have not set a date for the proposed stablecoin pilot.
Tether has signed an agreement with Kazakhstan’s central bank and Alatau City authorities to explore a stablecoin pegged to the tenge, alongside projects covering asset tokenization and decentralized finance.
The Oct. 7 memorandum does not approve or launch a new stablecoin. The parties will first develop a concept, study issuance models used in other markets and prepare a pilot proposal for a tenge-backed token.
National Bank Will Study Issuance, Reserve, and Payment Models
The National Bank of Kazakhstan, Tether and the Alatau City Authority will examine how a tenge stablecoin could be issued, backed and used inside Kazakhstan’s financial system.
The work will include potential payment applications, reserve management and infrastructure needed to support digital assets. No issuer, blockchain, reserve structure or commercial launch date has been announced for the proposed stablecoin.
Kazakhstan already regulates money-backed stablecoins as digital financial assets under rules that took effect on May 1. The National Bank licenses and supervises digital asset service providers operating outside the Astana International Financial Centre.
Alatau City is Planned to Host Real-World Asset Tokenization Pilot
The agreement also includes plans for a real-world asset tokenization pilot within Alatau City’s special regulatory jurisdiction.
The partners will identify asset categories suitable for tokenization and develop a model for issuing and managing those assets. Tether’s Hadron platform could be used as part of the pilot, but no platform choice has been finalized.
The cooperation will also include workshops on stablecoins, distributed ledgers, reserve structures and tokenized assets for National Bank staff and other government bodies.
Kazakhstan Already Tested a Tenge Stablecoin in 2025
The planned Tether project would not be Kazakhstan’s first experiment with a tenge-backed token. The National Bank launched a separate pilot in September 2025 with crypto exchange Intebix, Solana, Mastercard, and Eurasian Bank inside its regulatory sandbox.
Kazakhstan is also developing the digital tenge, its central bank digital currency, separately from privately issued stablecoins.
Tether and the Kazakh authorities have not set a date for the proposed stablecoin pilot. The next stage is to develop the issuance structure and determine which tokenization projects will move into testing in Alatau City.
