Kazakhstan announced the launch of Alem Crypto Fund, its first state-backed crypto reserve. In its inaugural acquisition, the country chose to buy BNB via a partnership with Binance Kazakhstan, as revealed through the official government portal. The primary objective of the fund is to make long-term investments in digital assets and to build strategic reserves, it claimed.
The fund is backed by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence & Digital Development and is to be managed by Qazaqstan Venture Group. It will come under the regulatory purview of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). And Binance Kazakhstan will assist in the custody and execution of the fund’s operations.
TLDR: Kazakhstan ???????? buys #BNB
Kazakhstan "national" crypto reserve – Alem Crypto Fund – buys #BNB for long-term holding.
https://t.co/ZbLNbuLvpG
(Photo from 2022, new photo coming soon…) pic.twitter.com/2aoz33e328— CZ ???? BNB (@cz_binance) September 29, 2025
Betting on BNB
In its first move, the fund has acquired BNB, the native token of Binance’s ecosystem, positioning it as the first digital asset held in this reserve. The government has not yet disclosed how many tokens have been purchased or the capital backing the initial allocation.
Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev, described the fund as a step toward a reliable instrument for investors. “The creation of the Alem Crypto Fund is a step toward advancing digital finance in Kazakhstan. Our goal is to make it a reliable instrument for major investors and a key foundation for digital state reserves,” he stated.
Kazakhstan’s crypto landscape
Kazakhstan’s pivot to digital assets is not sudden. The country has been a major player in crypto mining, once ranking among the top Bitcoin hashrate contributors globally. President Tokayev, earlier in September, also floated the idea of a state crypto reserve in his annual address. It also cracked down on illegal exchanges, regulated existing operators, and rolled out proposals for a “CryptoCity” pilot zone
Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, took to X to dish details about the announcement. He highlighted that the “national” reserve has bought ‘BNB for long-term holding.’
Being among the first in the Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan’s Alem Fund could become a benchmark in sovereign digital reserves. In 2025, BNB crossed the $138 billion mark in market capitalization, affirming its role as both a crypto frontrunner and a key force in international digital asset markets. BNB was trading higher by 4.84% at $1,029.17, at the time of reporting.