Turkmenistan passes law regulating cryptocurrency mining and exchanges

Turkmenistan has passed a law legalising and regulating digital assets, including licences for cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto mining companies, state media reported on Friday.

The Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported that President Serdar Berdymukhamedov had signed the law, which will come into force on January 1.

A mostly desert Central Asian country with the world's fourth largest gas reserves, Turkmenistan has recently been trying to diversify its economy beyond exports of natural gas, which it sends mostly to China.

A government spokesperson told Reuters that the law will "help attract investment and stimulate digitalization."

The new law regulates the creation, storage, placement, use, and circulation of virtual assets in Turkmenistan, and defines their legal and economic status, the spokesperson said. Kyrgyzstan, another former Soviet Central Asian republic, has positioned itself as a regional leader in the sector, launching a national stablecoin in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Binance.