Uzbek regulators have begun giving local crypto service providers regulatory permits as they get ready for the country to implement a new cryptocurrency framework in 2023.
According to a declaration made public on November 17, Uzbekistan’s main cryptocurrency market regulator, the National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP), has granted the country’s first cryptocurrency licenses. The licences formally permit two “cryptocurrency stores,” namely Crypto Trade NET LLC and Crypto Market LLC, to provide services associated with cryptocurrencies.
Both Crypto Trade NET and Crypto Market are situated in Tashkent, according to information from the NAPP’s electronic licence record. The information also lists Kamolitdin Nuritdinov as the sole creator and shareholder of Crypto Market. The sole founder and stakeholder of Crypto Trade NET is Behzod Achilov.
The presidential order published in April 2022, which provides guidelines for the circulation of crypto assets in Uzbekistan, is cited as the basis for the NAPP’s licencing of the two businesses.
According to the official statement, “crypto shops” are designed to make it simpler for people to buy or sell crypto assets. It additionally advised Uzbek residents to “vigilant” and refrain from using electronic platform services if they have not been granted permission to do so in the proper manner on the country’s territory.
The information was released soon after the Uzbek government blocked many significant international cryptocurrency exchanges because they lacked the necessary authorization to provide trading services in cryptocurrencies.
“The agency urges citizens to be as vigilant as possible and not to use the services of electronic platforms that have not received a license to operate on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the prescribed manner.”
Although users reportedly still had access to certain websites through VPN services, the restriction apparently only affected crypto industry heavyweights like Binance and Huobi. In August 2022, the NAPP announced the measures, however it appears the statement has since been removed.
The most recent licences coincide with Uzbekistan’s active preparations to develop a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in a few months. The Uzbek government will only let authorized cryptocurrency companies to offer crypto services to Uzbek nationals after January 1, 2023.