ASTANA – Crypto exchanges, asset management in emerging markets and the impact of economic sanctions on financial centers will be among the key topics at the Astana Finance Days (AFD) on June 7 on the eve of the Astana International Forum (AIF).
Around 3,000 participants and 200 speakers from more than 70 countries are expected to gather at the AFD hosted since 2018 as a major annual international financial conference.
This year’s event focuses on five topics, including the Astana International Financial Center’s (AIFC) products, jurisdiction and regulation, innovations and capabilities, green growth, and capital markets.
The program features a diverse selection of panel discussions, which will provide valuable insights into the industry.
The opening session on jurisdiction and regulation will feature a panel discussion on the results of the pilot project on the interaction between Kazakh banks and crypto exchanges registered in the AIFC.
The objectives of the project are to provide crypto exchanges with access to the market of Kazakhstan and allow Kazakh residents and crypto-miners to trade on the platforms of AIFC crypto exchanges, create favorable conditions for investments through fiat channels provided by second-tier banks (STB) of Kazakhstan and amend the national legislation of Kazakhstan and the AIFC acts based on pilot project’s results.
The pilot involved five crypto-exchanges, Binance, Ataix, Intebix, Xignal и Upbit, and eight Kazakhstan’s STBs: Halyk Bank, Altyn Bank, Zaman Bank, Freedom Bank, Eurasian Bank, Bereke Bank, Nurbank and CenterCredit.
The opening session will be followed by a session on the future of crypto regulation that will include a discussion with academia and industry experts on trends and challenges, the overall picture of the industry, and its future outlook.
Cryptomarket capitalization globally is currently worth $1.17 trillion. Following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchanges, the demand for better regulation of digital assets has increased.
The impact of economic sanctions on financial centers and the role of financial regulators in preventing financial crime will also be up for discussion during AFD, with experts offering their views in another panel session.
The response of countries to the imposition of wide-ranging sanctions highlights the need to strengthen the role of the financial regulator in protecting financial systems and preventing financial crime.
Opportunities in the AIFC for investing in emerging markets will also be high on the agenda. The number of asset management companies in the AIFC has increased from six to around 30 since the beginning of 2022, and that number is showing steady growth.
The geographically advantageous location of the AIFC, its proximity to the markets of Central Asia with a population of 75 million people and a total gross domestic product (GDP) worth $350 billion, as well as AIFC’s special jurisdiction, serve as an ideal platform for creating and maintaining a successful business in this sector.
The full list of discussion panels is available on the AFD website.
