Binance founder Changpeng Zhao announced on Friday that Kyrgyzstan has launched a national stablecoin on the BNB Chain and prepared its central bank digital currency (CBDC) for a full rollout. The announcement details the rapid progress of a partnership between the crypto exchange and the Central Asian nation, which also includes a national crypto reserve holding BNB.
In Brief
- Kyrgyzstan has launched a national stablecoin (KGST) on the BNB Chain and confirmed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) is ready for rollout.
- The country established a National Cryptocurrency Reserve that includes Bitcoin (BTC) and Binance’s BNB token, backed by state-run hydropower mining.
- The initiatives are the result of a strategic partnership with Binance formalized in May 2025, which also includes educational and law enforcement training.
The series of initiatives, unveiled after Zhao’s two-day visit to the country, represents one of the fastest and most comprehensive state-level adoptions of blockchain technology to date. Kyrgyzstan, where remittances account for approximately 30% of GDP, has been actively pursuing a “Crypto 2.0” strategy to enhance financial inclusion and governance.
The country ranked 19th on Chainalysis’ 2025 Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, the highest in Central Asia. According to data from the local news agency 24.kg, virtual asset transactions in the country reached the equivalent of $10 billion in the first half of 2025.
Dual Currency Strategy of Kyrgyzstan
The country is implementing what has been described as a “dual mechanism” approach to digital currency. The national stablecoin, pegged to the Kyrgyz som (KGST), is now live on the public BNB Chain and is designed for efficient, low-cost public transactions like cross-border remittances.
In contrast, the CBDC, or “digital som,” is a centralized currency that is now ready for deployment for government-related payments such as salaries and subsidies. In April 2025, President Sadyr Japarov signed legislation that granted the digital som legal tender status, paving the way for pilot testing to begin later this year.
Kyrgyzstan Integrates Crypto at the State Level
The partnership with Binance, formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding in May 2025, extends beyond currency infrastructure. Zhao confirmed that a National Cryptocurrency Reserve has been established, which will include both Bitcoin and BNB.
The reserve will be partially funded by state-owned cryptocurrency mining operations using the country’s excess hydropower resources. The collaboration also includes practical training and ecosystem development.
Binance has provided blockchain forensics training to Kyrgyz law enforcement and established Binance Academy educational programs with ten of the nation’s top universities. The Binance application was fully localized into the Kyrgyz language in June 2025.
The EthSign Connection
In his announcement, Zhao highlighted the role of EthSign, a blockchain infrastructure company, in developing Kyrgyzstan’s digital money system. YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, is a minority investor in EthSign, having participated in funding rounds that totaled $41.5 million in 2025.
Zhao noted that Binance aims to provide “real strategic value in addition to just investing in money,” pointing to the integration of its portfolio companies to support national projects. EthSign’s technology reportedly enables the hybrid CBDC-stablecoin model that Kyrgyzstan has adopted.
Chain Street’s Take
Kyrgyzstan’s rollout marks one of the clearest examples yet of a nation-state leaning on private crypto infrastructure to modernize its monetary system. The partnership gives Binance deep, system-level influence, not just powering payments, but shaping policy, reserves, and education.
It’s a bold experiment in digital sovereignty. If it works, other emerging economies may follow. If it doesn’t, it could serve as a cautionary tale about outsourcing national currency infrastructure to a global exchange.
