Staking service provider Moonstake has partnered with Uzbekistan exchange UzNEX to develop blockchain community programs and provide blockchain consulting services throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Fast Facts:
- After launching its staking business in 2020, Moonstake has grown to be one of the world’s biggest staking providers. UzNEX, operated by Korean-owned Kobea Group, was the first exchange to be licensed by Uzbekistan’s government in 2019. It launched its own cryptocurrency, UzNEX Coin, based on the ERC-20 Model, in January 2020.
- However, trading cryptocurrencies has been largely banned in Uzbekistan since a 2019 decree issued by the National Agency for Project Management, although the agency recently released an official document proposing that individuals be allowed to conduct “all types of crypto exchange trades involving crypto assets and tokens in exchange for the national currency and … foreign currency.”
- In a break with the restrictive policies of the past, the government is now taking a more lenient approach to crypto regulation. Kobea Chairman Chang Yong Lee said in a statement: “Uzbekistan is now one of the youngest and fastest-growing countries in the world, where major reforms in the field of the digital economy are being introduced. This country has enormous potential, and may soon lead the global digital economy.”
- The Central Asian blockchain industry is seeing growth following China’s crackdown on crypto mining in its province of Inner Mongolia, and more recently Xinjiang and Qinghai. Neighboring Kazakhstan has already seen massive expansion in the sector as China’s miners look to base their operations elsewhere.