Turkmenistan legalizes crypto mining and exchanges to boost the economy

• Turkmenistan legalized cryptocurrency mining and exchanges to boost economic development and attract foreign investment.
• The law, signed by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, provides a legal framework for virtual assets, categorizing them as property.
• Cryptocurrency mining and exchanges must register with the central bank and stick to anti money-laundering rules.

Turkmenistan officially put into effect the Law on Virtual Assets legalizing cryptocurrency mining and crypto exchanges as it looks to boost economic development and attract foreign investment.

The new rules, which President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed into law on Nov. 28, provide a framework for the use, creation and exchange of virtual assets in the country.

A 2025 study on Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, which include Turkmenistan, concluded that allowing crypto is good for the economy.

"Cryptocurrency legalization has significantly boosted economic growth in developing nations by enhancing financial inclusion and providing the legal clarity essential for attracting digital foreign direct investment," said Muhammad Rheza Ramadhan, an economist and researcher at Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance.

The law defines virtual assets as property, not legal tender or securities, and divides them into two categories: secured (backed by an underlying asset) and unsecured (such as bitcoin). Virtual assets cannot be used as payment for goods or services and must be treated strictly as property or investment instruments.

Cryptocurrency mining by both companies and individuals becomes permissible, provided the miners register with the Central Bank of Turkmenistan. The law imposes technical standards on mining operations and explicitly prohibits covert mining methods like cryptojacking.

The law also authorizes crypto exchanges and custodial services to operate, again provided a license is issued by the central bank. Both domestic and foreign entities can own these services, except those based in or associated with offshore jurisdictions. Exchanges must enforce know-your-customer and anti money-laundering rules, and anonymous transactions or wallets are not allowed.

• KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
• This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
• Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
• Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
• Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

• Iran's Ministry of Defence Export Center is accepting cryptocurrency payments for advanced weapons systems as a means of bypassing international sanctions that the country faces.
• The offer is among the first known instances of a country accepting cryptocurrency as a means of payment for military equipment, according to the Financial Times.
• The facility for using cryptocurrency to pay for transactions involving sanctioned countries is already well established.

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