A court in Kazakhstan has barred Coinbase and five other cryptocurrency exchanges from offering or promoting unlicensed digital-asset services within the Astana International Financial Centre, in a case that highlights the limits of the country’s financial-zone rules.
The Astana Financial Services Authority, or AFSA, obtained injunctions covering BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global, also known as HTX, BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX. According to CoinDesk, the orders prevent the platforms from marketing unlicensed crypto services in the AIFC and from distributing mobile applications for those services within the financial center.
The decision does not create a nationwide prohibition on the six exchanges. The restrictions apply only to the AIFC and to users located inside it, according to a Sept. 15 judgment by Justice Sir Stephen Richards. The case therefore concerns access to services within Kazakhstan’s specialized financial hub rather than the platforms’ availability across the country as a whole.
What the court order covers
The AIFC is a financial center in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, with its own legal framework and regulator. Crypto companies that want to provide services inside the center must obtain authorization from the relevant authorities.
AFSA’s court action targets services that the regulator considers unlicensed. The injunctions cover both the provision and promotion of those services, as well as the distribution of mobile applications connected with them. This gives the order a broader practical reach than a restriction aimed only at a company’s website.
The court also made Google and Apple subject to the order in their capacity as app-store operators. However, it did not issue a separate injunction directly against the two companies. Instead, the court said AFSA should first discuss the required steps with Google and Apple after the firms are formally served.
The proceedings ended with judgments by default after the affected platform operators did not respond within the required period. The source material does not state that the exchanges admitted wrongdoing or agreed with the regulator’s allegations. CoinDesk said it contacted the platforms for comment but had not received responses before publication.
LBank removed after addressing regulator’s concerns
LBank was initially included in AFSA’s proceedings, but the exchange was removed from the order on Sept. 18. AFSA said the platform addressed the regulator’s concerns and blocked access to its services in Kazakhstan.
That outcome distinguishes LBank’s case from the six exchanges still covered by the injunctions. It also shows that the proceedings can change when a platform takes steps that satisfy AFSA, although the source does not specify any additional terms of LBank’s resolution.
AFSA said its enforcement campaign began in 2025, when it issued warnings to more than 20 cryptocurrency platforms. Court proceedings followed in early 2026. The latest orders are part of that broader effort to enforce the AIFC’s authorization requirements.
Background and market picture
The AIFC’s separate legal and regulatory structure means that a restriction issued there can be geographically limited. In this case, the court expressly confined the injunctions to the financial center and people using services there. That distinction is important for readers because the ruling should not be interpreted as a ban on Coinbase, BingX, Bitcoin.com, HTX, BitMart or WEEX throughout Kazakhstan.
Coinbase has previously faced regulatory action in the country. Authorities blocked the exchange’s website in 2023 over alleged violations of Kazakhstan’s digital-asset law, according to the source material. The new proceedings, however, relate specifically to unlicensed services within the AIFC.
Moneyiar market data at 08:33 on Oct. 21, 2026, showed mixed seven-day performance among the listed digital assets, despite gains over the previous 24 hours:
- Cronos (CRO): $0.0581290394, up 2.68% in 24 hours and down 2.61% over seven days.
- Injective (INJ): $8.748604871, up 2.78% in 24 hours and up 8.13% over seven days.
- Ethereum Name Service (ENS): $5.6781960645, up 4.86% in 24 hours and down 5.35% over seven days.
- BAS (BAS): $0.0186312397, up 2.76% in 24 hours and down 11.76% over seven days.
The market figures provide a snapshot of prices and recent changes, but they do not indicate how the court orders have affected any individual exchange or token. The legal restrictions remain focused on licensing and access to crypto services inside the AIFC.
