Two local “crypto stores” receive their first cryptocurrency licenses from Uzbekistan. Beginning in January 2023, only licensed cryptocurrency firms will be permitted to offer cryptocurrency trading services to Uzbek citizens.
Local cryptocurrency service providers have begun receiving regulatory approvals from Uzbekistan’s regulators as the country prepares to adopt a new cryptocurrency framework in 2023.
According to an official announcement that was made public on November 17, the primary regulator of the cryptocurrency market in Uzbekistan, the National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP), has granted the nation’s first crypto licenses.
Two “cryptocurrency stores,” Crypto Trade NET LLC and Crypto Market LLC, are officially allowed to provide services related to cryptocurrencies under the terms of the licenses.
The NAPP’s electronic license register reveals that both Crypto Trade NET and Crypto Market have their headquarters in Tashkent.Additionally, Kamolitdin Nuritdinov is mentioned in the data as the sole shareholder and founder of Crypto Market. Behzod Achilov is also Crypto Trade NET’s sole founder and shareholder.
At the time of this writing, it does not appear that any of the platforms have a live website.
The announcement stated that the NAPP granted licenses to the two businesses on the basis of a presidential decree issued in April 2022 that established guidelines for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Uzbekistan.
The statement continued, “Crypto shops are designed to provide citizens with easier access to buy or sell crypto assets.”
“The agency urges citizens to be as vigilant as possible and to refrain from using 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,” reads the statement.
The announcement comes shortly after the Uzbek government blocked a number of major global cryptocurrency exchanges due to a lack of a valid license to provide crypto trading services.
Users were reportedly still able to access their websites with the assistance of VPN services, despite the fact that crypto giants Binance and Huobi were impacted by the block. The NAPP appears to have since removed that statement, which was made in August 2022 when it announced the measures.
Uzbekistan is actively preparing to implement a new crypto regulatory framework in a few months, and the most recent licenses come at this time. The provision of cryptocurrency services to Uzbek citizens will only be permitted by licensed cryptocurrency businesses from January 1, 2023.