Kazakhstan Signals Possible Dual-Track Rollout of Digital Tenge CBDC and Evo Stablecoin Pilot

Digital tenge is Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency pilot that will function as legal tender for interbank settlements, while the state-linked Evo stablecoin targets ecosystem payments and cross-border business use — the two are designed to be interoperable rather than ￰0￱ tenge acts as legal tender for interbank settlement and monetary ￰1￱ stablecoin is state-linked and tailored for ecosystem payments and cross-border activity. Kazakhstan’s dual-track model aims to boost financial sovereignty and attract crypto projects; the CBDC launched in 2023 and Evo rolled out in September ￰2￱ tenge pilot and Evo stablecoin: Kazakhstan advances a two-track digital-assets strategy to boost payments, sovereignty and crypto hub ambitions — learn what this ￰3￱ is advancing a dual model by piloting its digital tenge CBDC alongside the Evo stablecoin as part of its push to be a crypto ￰4￱ is moving forward with a dual-track approach to digital assets, piloting its central bank digital currency (CBDC) while also backing a state-linked ￰5￱ September, the National Bank of Kazakhstan launched the Evo stablecoin in collaboration with Solana and Mastercard, marking one of the first cases of state-backed stablecoin development ￰6￱ central bank has also been progressing with its CBDC, digital tenge , which launched in ￰7￱ Sholpankulov, deputy governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, said the Evo stablecoin and the digital tenge present integration opportunities and interoperability rather than ￰8￱ confirmed the digital tenge pilot is ongoing, adding new participants and projects, and that lawmakers are working to establish the digital tenge as legal tender equal to fiat ￰9￱ is the digital tenge and how does it differ from the Evo stablecoin?

Digital tenge is the national CBDC pilot intended as legal tender and a tool for interbank settlement, while the Evo stablecoin is a state-linked private token focused on specific ecosystems and commercial ￰10￱ CBDC supports monetary policy; Evo targets user adoption and cross-border ￰11￱ will Kazakhstan integrate CBDC and stablecoins? Kazakhstan plans interoperability layers and clear regulation to let the digital tenge underpin settlement rails while allowing Evo and other stablecoins to serve businesses and ￰12￱ central bank sees the CBDC as a guarantor for payments and as a foundation for fintech ￰13￱ issuers can build on CBDC rails without requiring direct bank settlement, expanding payment options across public and private ￰14￱ Sholpankulov, deputy governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, during a policy briefing on digital asset regulation, May 2025.) emphasized complementary roles: the CBDC reinforces financial sovereignty while the stablecoin accelerates global crypto integration and practical ￰15￱ evidence supports the approach?

Kazakhstan has already allowed regulatory fees in USDt, launched a spot Bitcoin fund, and moved toward a state-backed crypto ￰16￱ with industry figures and initiatives in tokenization and KZTx discussion show active public-private ￰17￱ Asked Questions Will the digital tenge replace cash? The digital tenge is intended to be legal tender and coexist with cash, enhancing settlement efficiency rather than immediately replacing physical ￰18￱ Evo and the digital tenge be exchanged? Regulatory frameworks aim to enable conversion and interoperability between the digital tenge and ecosystem stablecoins under supervised conditions to protect ￰19￱ Takeaways Dual-track strategy : CBDC (digital tenge) for policy and settlement; Evo for ecosystem ￰20￱ sovereignty : CBDC strengthens national control while stablecoins enable market ￰21￱ next steps : Expect regulatory integration, pilot expansion, and public–private tokenization ￰22￱ versus stablecoins.) met with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Thursday.