Kazakhstan May Sell Gold to Fund $350M Crypto Purchase: Report

The previous plans laid out by the country’s central bank indicated that it wanted to form the fund from crypto seizures.

A month after the initial reports emerged that Kazakhstan’s central bank plans to invest in cryptocurrencies, governor Timur Suleimanov provided further details today that actually differ slightly from the initial idea.

As reported by Reuters, the governor of the central bank said during a briefing on interest rates that the entity is “currently developing a list of instruments in which we will invest. This includes not only cryptocurrency itself.”

“These include shares of high-tech ​companies related to cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets, index funds and other instruments that exhibit similar ​dynamics to crypto assets.”

The report states that the portfolio of up to $350 million will be formed from other current investments, such as gold and foreign exchange reserves.

Deputy Chair Aliya Moldabekova explained that the investments will begin in April-May. However, she disclaimed that they do not plan “any large investment in cryptocurrencies,” before adding:

“We are currently selecting companies that deal with digital ​assets. For ​example, those ⁠involved in cryptocurrency infrastructure. We are currently in the process ​of selecting such companies.”

Reuters noted that the central bank holds over $69 billion worth of gold and foreign exchange reserves as of February 1, while its national fund held around $65 billion worth of assets.

It’s worth noting that Kazakhstan has mulled a similar fund for some time, but a previous report on the matter claimed it would also use “crypto seized by law enforcement agencies” to create a digital asset stockpile.