Tether Partners With Kazakhstan to Explore Stablecoins

A Major Partnership in Central Asia

TetherUSDT+0.15%, the company behind the world's largest stablecoin USDT, has officially entered into a new collaboration in Central Asia. The firm signed a Memorandum of Understanding with both the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority.

This partnership centers on two key initiatives. First, the entities will explore creating a stablecoin pegged to Kazakhstan's national currency, the tenge. Second, they plan to design a framework for tokenizing real-world assets inside a newly planned smart city.

Understanding the Agreement: What is an MoU?

Before diving deeper into the technical details, it helps to understand what this agreement represents. A Memorandum of Understanding is essentially a formal statement outlining what parties plan to explore together.

You can think of an MoU as a high-level handshake rather than a legally binding contract. It signals joint intent, but the current agreement sets no official dates or binding obligations for launching either pilot project.

Exploring a Tenge-Pegged Stablecoin

The primary objective of the memorandum is to evaluate a stablecoin pegged to the Kazakhstani tenge. A stablecoin is a digital token designed to maintain a stable value relative to a specific traditional currency.

Tether, the central bank, and municipal leaders will study how other nations handle stablecoin issuance. Following this research, they intend to prepare a conceptual model and a pilot proposal.

However, the public announcement leaves one important detail unspecified. It does not state which entity would ultimately issue the tenge token if the project moves forward.

Tokenizing Real-World Assets in Alatau City

The second focus area is asset tokenization. Tokenization involves recording digital ownership rights of physical or traditional financial assets—such as real estate, bonds, or commodities—on a blockchain.

Under the memorandum, the participating organizations will select priority asset categories, design an operational model, and launch a localized pilot in Alatau.

The trial may utilize Hadron, an asset tokenization platform launched by Tether in November 2024. Hadron is built to help businesses and institutions tokenize real-world assets efficiently.

Educational Workshops for Central Bank Officials

In addition to technical plans, the collaboration includes educational programs. Tether will host specialized training workshops for staff members at the central bank.

These sessions aim to build technical capacity in key operational areas:

• Issuing digital tokens securely on public or private networks
• Managing reserve assets backing stablecoins
• Understanding legal and technical structures for tokenized real-world assets

Inside Alatau: A $7.2 Billion Smart City Project

The location chosen for these experiments is strategic. Alatau is a planned smart city in the Almaty region, being built entirely from scratch.

Designed with its own unique legal regime, Alatau is positioned to become a central financial technology hub for Central Asia.

The ambitious $7.2 billion development project aims to scale its population from 52,000 residents to over two million. Furthermore, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has expressed a goal for citizens in Alatau to pay for everyday goods and services directly using cryptocurrency.

Kazakhstan's National Digital Asset Reserves

This partnership aligns with Kazakhstan's wider financial strategy regarding digital assets. The nation has taken deliberate steps to participate directly in the market.

In March, the central bank earmarked up to $350 million out of its nearly $70 billion foreign exchange and gold reserves for crypto-related investments. Officials noted these funds are primarily directed toward shares in crypto-focused companies and index funds rather than individual coins.

By September, government officials stated that the national crypto reserve had reached $700 million, with roughly $200 million invested so far, mainly through institutional hedge funds.

Existing Stablecoins and Property Tokenization Programs

Kazakhstan is already actively testing blockchain technology. The country previously launched a tenge stablecoin pilot named Evo in September 2025 within the central bank's regulatory sandbox.

The Evo token was issued by exchange platform Intebix alongside Eurasian Bank, utilizing technical support from SolanaSOL-3.97% and Mastercard. In that setup, the central bank writes the regulatory guidelines while private partners issue the asset.

Separately, the National Bank plans to tokenize two properties in Alatau valued at $50 million and $10 million. This initiative is expected to run on the infrastructure of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange by the end of 2026.

Please note that past performance of digital asset pilot programs or investments is not an indicator of future results.

Recent Regulatory Context Around Tether

The news of this central bank agreement follows recent regulatory scrutiny surrounding Tether in international jurisdictions.

The deal arrived shortly after a U.S. Senate subcommittee report highlighted alleged USDT usage linked to sanctioned entities in Iran. Additionally, Tether has been involved in a legal dispute regarding a $2.76 million account freeze.

Looking Ahead

Although the Memorandum of Understanding marks an important milestone, implementation details remain in the exploratory phase.

As Tether and Kazakhstani authorities work through initial research and technical training, market participants will be watching closely to see how the proposed pilots develop.