Uzbekistan Introduces Monthly Fees for Cryptocurrency Companies

Crypto firms in Uzbekistan will have to pay fees to the state under new legislation proposed by regulators. The charges vary depending on the business activity and can reach $11,000 a month in the case of digital asset exchanges. Failure to pay will result in license suspension.

Authorities in Uzbekistan have adopted a law which obliges entities working with cryptocurrencies to make special contributions to the state budget. The legislation, put forward by the country’s main crypto regulatory body, has come into force after registration with the Ministry of Justice, as required.

According to the bill authored by the National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP) under the President of Uzbekistan, licensed crypto companies will have to pay the charges each month. Different rates have been set for the various categories of cryptocurrency operators.

Crypto exchanges, for example, will be charged the highest tariff of 120 million Uzbekistani soum (almost $11,000) while cryptocurrency stores will pay around $540, the Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media detailed in a report.

The tariff for individual miners will be around $270 per month and mining pools will have to transfer to the government a little over $2,700, at current exchange rates. At the same time, custodial service providers will enjoy the lowest fee — $135.

“Failure to pay the fee within one month constitutes grounds for suspension of the license. If the company does not pay the fee for two months within a year, the license may be canceled,” according to one of the law’s provisions. The NAPP will deduct 20% of each payment and the rest will go to the government coffers.

This year, Uzbek authorities have been quite active in their efforts to regulate the country’s growing crypto economy. In the spring, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree expanding the regulatory framework for the Central Asian nation’s digital currency market. It provided legal definitions for crypto assets, exchange, and mining, and assigned oversight duties to the NAPP.

In June, the government in Tashkent presented a set of new registration rules for companies involved in the extraction of digital currencies and obliged miners to use renewable energy. Following a spike in activities of online platforms providing crypto services to Uzbekistanis without a local license, the NAPP took measures to block access to foreign crypto exchange sites in August.

What’s your opinion about the new fees imposed by the government of Uzbekistan on crypto companies? Tell us in the comments section below.