Kyrgyzstan Tightens Crypto Oversight Over Sanctions Risks

Kyrgyzstan is tightening oversight of its crypto sector as the government warns that sanctions risks are no longer theoretical. Economy and Commerce Minister Bakyt Sydykov made the comments at a meeting of the National Council for the Development of Virtual Assets and Blockchain Technologies in the Issyk-Kul region.

“Sanctions risks for our jurisdiction are no longer theoretical and require constant and strict oversight,” Sydykov said. He said sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom against Russia since 2022 had increasingly affected companies and financial institutions in third countries.

More than 25 Kyrgyz companies and individuals are currently under sanctions, including three previously licensed virtual asset service providers. The authorities have launched an analytical platform called Crypto Compliance to screen clients, beneficial owners, transactions and crypto wallets for links to illicit activity.

Sydykov also announced that Kyrgyzstan had revoked the licenses of two virtual asset service providers, Paybis Gold and InFin. The Cabinet of Ministers decided to begin liquidating ElPay OJSC, the issuer of the KGST stablecoin.

The steps follow sanctions targeting Kyrgyz crypto companies. In August 2025, the United States sanctioned Old Vector, which issued the ruble-backed A7A5 stablecoin. The U.S. Treasury said Old Vector helped create A7A5 with Garantex and other entities, and that the token was used to move Garantex customers’ funds after sanctions hit the exchange.

The United Kingdom sanctioned Grinex, Old Vector and TengriCoin that same month, linking them to the infrastructure around A7A5. British authorities said about $9.3 billion passed through a specialized crypto platform using the token during its first four months. The European Union later sanctioned A7A5’s developer, its Kyrgyz issuer and the platform where it was actively traded, and banned transactions involving the token within the bloc. In April 2026, the EU added another Kyrgyz entity operating the platform to its sanctions list.

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Sanctions risks for our jurisdiction are no longer theoretical and require constant and strict oversight.