Kazakhstan Pushes Ahead With Alatau: Central Asia’s First Blockchain-Powered Digital City
Kazakhstan is preparing to launch one of the region’s most ambitious urban innovation experiments as Alatau, a newly designated urban development zone near Almaty, moves toward becoming Central Asia’s first fully digital city built on blockchain infrastructure and a crypto-driven economy.
The announcement was made by the Almaty regional administration, which oversees the expansive area earmarked for development.
The initiative is part of a broader national push to position Kazakhstan as a regional leader in financial technology, digital innovation, and next-generation urban planning. Officials say the project reflects the government’s strategic shift toward advanced technological ecosystems that integrate digital assets into everyday economic life.
Strategic Partnerships with China Fuel Momentum
During a recent state visit to China, a Kazakh delegation signed multibillion-dollar investment agreements with several global corporations. A
mong them is a major construction firm known for its work on the high-tech innovation hub in Shenzhen. Kazakhstan hopes to leverage this expertise as it builds out Alatau’s infrastructure, envisioning a city shaped around efficiency, automation, and digital-first public services.
Beyond the “Smart City”: Introducing the CryptoCity Model
Regional officials emphasize that Alatau is not merely another “smart city.” Instead, they describe it as a “digital currency-driven urban model,” a next-generation concept in which blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital governance form the backbone of urban operations.
The city’s systems are expected to incorporate blockchain across public administration, data handling, service delivery, economic transactions, and even local governance. The goal: create an integrated environment where processes are faster, cheaper, and neutral against corruption.
This move gained national visibility in May 2025, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced at the Astana International Forum plans for a regulated pilot zone that would legally allow crypto transactions. The initiative was later officially named CryptoCity, with Alatau selected as its home.
Kazakhstan’s Evolving Crypto Roadmap
The launch of Alatau comes after years of Kazakhstan refining its approach to digital assets.
Following the 2021 migration of large-scale crypto mining firms from China, the country emerged as a global hotspot for mining activity. In response, Kazakhstan introduced testing frameworks through institutions like the Astana International Financial Centre, allowing supervised digital asset trading within a separate legal environment.
In 2023, authorities tightened regulations on mining, introducing licensing rules and energy-consumption taxes to curb excessive strain on the national grid. Still, officials maintained a policy line that balances innovation with oversight, working with several international financial institutions, some based in the United States, to align the country’s compliance frameworks with global standards.
A City Built for Digital Commerce and Logistics
Alatau spans roughly 88,000 hectares and has a population of just over 52,000 people across 12 former villages, as well as part of Konayev.
The government plans to develop the area into a major commercial and export-oriented logistics hub, supported by digital infrastructure that accelerates transactions and enhances transparency across supply chains.
A Controlled Leap Toward a Digital Future
Through CryptoCity, Kazakhstan aims to build a model that marries forward-leaning crypto innovation with a stable regulatory framework. If Alatau succeeds, officials believe it could serve as a national testbed for blockchain-driven economies and inspire similar developments across the country.
The project could also strengthen Kazakhstan’s position as a rising digital-economy leader in Central Asia, one capable of attracting global investment while shaping the future of regulated crypto adoption.
