Tether has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority to explore a stablecoin pegged to the tenge and develop an asset tokenization framework, the company announced Wednesday.
Under the agreement, the three parties will study how other countries have issued stablecoins and prepare a concept and pilot proposal. For tokenization—the process of recording ownership of physical or financial assets as digital tokens on a blockchain—the parties plan to select priority asset categories, design a model, and launch a pilot within Alatau, potentially on Hadron, the tokenization platform Tether launched in November 2024. The memorandum sets no timeline for either pilot.
The agreement also includes workshops to train central bank staff on token issuance, reserve management, and asset tokenization.
Kazakhstan's Crypto Strategy
Alatau is a planned smart city in the Almaty region designed as a fintech hub for Central Asia. The $7.2 billion project aims to grow from 52,000 residents to two million, with officials emphasizing cryptocurrency payments for goods and services.
In March, Kazakhstan's central bank earmarked up to $350 million for crypto-related investments from its nearly $70 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves, though funds may be directed toward shares of crypto-linked companies and index funds rather than coins themselves. Officials reported in September that the national crypto reserve had reached $700 million, with approximately $200 million invested to date, largely through hedge funds.
Existing Tokenization Efforts
Kazakhstan is already running a tenge stablecoin pilot called Evo, launched in September 2025 within the central bank's regulatory sandbox. The token was issued by the exchange Intebix and Eurasian Bank with support from Solana and Mastercard.
The National Bank separately plans to tokenize two Alatau properties, valued at up to $50 million and $10 million, on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange's infrastructure by the end of 2026.
