Uzbekistan Licenses 2 Crypto Exchange Service Providers

The regulatory body overseeing the crypto market in Uzbekistan has issued licenses to two companies that will be providing exchange services. The decision to authorize their activities aims to make it easier for Uzbekistanis to purchase and sell digital currencies, the agency said.

Uzbekistan’s National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP) has granted licenses to two entities established to offer cryptocurrency exchange. Crypto Trade NET and Crypto Market have been registered as “service providers in the field of crypto assets turnover,” the authority announced.

The NAPP, which is subordinated to the presidency in Tashkent, is the main regulator for the Central Asian nation’s crypto sector. “The Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the few countries in the world that has a well-formed framework for regulating the circulation of crypto assets,” the agency noted.

The regulator is referring to several presidential decrees and resolutions issued to determine its responsibilities and develop the country’s digital economy, including the crypto space. They introduced rules for the licensing of businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies.

Earlier his year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree expanding the regulatory framework which provided legal definitions for crypto assets, exchange, and mining. The government also adopted new registration rules for miners and introduced monthly fees for crypto companies.

While Uzbekistan already has one cryptocurrency exchange, the government-controlled Uznex, the two licensed companies will work as digital money exchangers or “crypto shops” as defined by the regulations. “It should be emphasized that Crypto Trade NET LLC and Crypto Market LLC became the first crypto shops in the CIS and Central Asia,” the NPP insisted and elaborated:

Crypto shops are designed to provide easier access for citizens to buy or sell crypto assets.

The National Agency of Perspective Projects also urged Uzbekistani citizens “to be as vigilant as possible” and avoid using the services of online trading platforms that don’t have a license to operate in the country.

In August, the authority started restricting access to foreign-based crypto trading websites. The measures affected even well-known global platforms like the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. However, this month the NAPP unblocked Bestchange.ru, a popular exchange aggregator in Russia and the former-Soviet space.

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