Laws signed by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov establishes a licensing scheme overseen by nation’s central financial institution.
Printed On 2 Jan 2026
Turkmenistan, one of many world’s most remoted nations, has formally legalised mining and exchanging cryptocurrency in a significant shift for the nation’s tightly managed, gas-dependent economy.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the laws on Thursday, regulating digital property below civil legislation and establishing a licensing scheme for cryptocurrency exchanges overseen by the nation’s central financial institution.
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Nevertheless, digital currencies will nonetheless not be recognised as a method of cost, foreign money or safety.
Turkmenistan, a former Soviet nation in Central Asia, depends closely on the export of its huge pure gasoline reserves to help its economy.
China is the nation’s foremost importer of gasoline, and Turkmenistan is presently engaged on a pipeline to provide gasoline to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Turkmenistan has been taking steps to digitalise authorities capabilities in addition to its economy.
In April, it adopted a legislation introducing digital visas aimed toward simplifying entry for foreigners.
After gaining independence in 1991, the tightly ruled nation sometimes positioned strict entry necessities on would-be guests, with many visa purposes turned down for unclear causes.
A principally desert nation of seven million individuals with the world’s fourth-largest pure gasoline reserves, Turkmenistan declared itself formally impartial in 1995 below its first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who spurned each Western and Russian affect.
Till his demise in 2006, Niyazov maintained tight management over politics, a coverage of isolationism from the skin world, and an economy closely based mostly on pure gasoline exports.
Since succeeding his father as president in 2022, Berdymukhamedov has signalled some opening.
In December, he hinted at potential political reforms forward of a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian.
“We’re finishing up intensive work aimed toward remodeling our impartial nation into a strong, democratic, and rule-of-law state the place residents stay glad lives,” Berdymukhamedov mentioned in the article, with out giving additional particulars.
Whereas Turkmenistan’s web stays tightly regulated and managed by the federal government, curbs on social media have been eased, and the federal government has pledged to open new air transport hyperlinks and liberalise its visa system.
Nonetheless, the nation is ranked by the Committee to Shield Journalists as one of many worst in the world for impartial media.
Kyrgyzstan, one other former Soviet Central Asian republic, has additionally positioned itself as a regional chief in the sector, launching a nationwide stablecoin in partnership with cryptocurrency change Binance.
