Kazakhstan invests $190M as its $700M crypto reserve takes shape

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Kazakhstan has invested around $190 million of its national crypto reserve in hedge funds and exchange-traded funds that provide access to digital assets.

Summary

Kazakhstan has deployed roughly $190 million from its $700 million National Strategic Crypto Reserve.
Bloomberg named Ege DeFi, Brevan Howard Digital and PDO among the crypto fund investments.
The reported $90 million allocation covers cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin ETFs, with no individual split disclosed.
The central bank’s investment subsidiary manages the reserve, with domestic infrastructure designated for asset custody.

Kazinform’s interview with National Bank Deputy Governor Binur Zhalenov puts the invested amount at approximately $190 million by the end of October. Published Nov. 9, the interview describes a portfolio being built in stages, with investments selected after an assessment of potential returns and risks.

Established in December 2025, the reserve received equal contributions from the central bank’s gold and foreign exchange assets and Kazakhstan’s National Fund, Zhalenov said. Each contribution amounts to $350 million.

Using the disclosed totals, the investments represent roughly 27.1% of the $700 million allocation, leaving $510 million outside the reported invested amount.

Kazakhstan’s crypto funds account for a reported $100 million

Bloomberg’s Nov. 5 report, reproduced as a terminal screenshot in Galaxy Research’s coverage, gives a more detailed breakdown. Monetary operations department head Batur Vakhidov presented the figures at a conference in Almaty.

According to the report, Kazakhstan invested about $100 million in cryptocurrency-focused funds, including Ege DeFi, Brevan Howard Digital and PDO. A further $90 million went into cryptocurrencies and ETFs focused on Bitcoin.

Bloomberg grouped the latter investments together without specifying how much went to tokens or ETF shares. Its wording does not identify a $90 million purchase exclusively of Bitcoin ETFs or describe the products as spot funds.

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The fund-based approach was already taking shape in January. As crypto.news previously reported, the National Investment Corporation had opened an account for crypto-related investments at the Central Depository and planned to invest through hedge funds.

At that stage, officials had shortlisted five hedge funds without naming them. National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov said crypto-focused venture capital funds could receive allocations later. The January account described an initial route through investment managers, while the latest breakdown names some of the recipients.

The corporation’s January plans included using cryptocurrencies seized by law enforcement to help build the reserve, alongside the contribution from foreign currency and gold reserves.

At a March 6 briefing, Suleimenov described a selection process covering technology companies tied to cryptocurrencies, index funds and instruments whose performance follows digital assets, Reuters reported. Deputy Chair Aliya Moldabekova said investments were expected to begin in April or May.

The bank’s planned $350 million portfolio would draw from gold and foreign exchange reserves. Moldabekova said officials were selecting companies involved in digital assets, including cryptocurrency infrastructure, as part of the investment process.

The central bank’s subsidiary manages the sovereign reserve

In a February response to Qazinform, the National Bank set out the reserve’s financing and management arrangements. It said there were no plans to use budget funds, identifying gold and foreign exchange assets, National Fund assets and other state assets authorized by the government as funding sources.

The bank assigned management to its National Investment Corporation and designated the Central Securities Depository for accounting and storage of digital assets. The investment mandate covered digital assets, derivatives linked to them, and shares or stakes in companies developing or investing in the sector.

Potential hedge fund managers were undergoing due diligence, with final selection subject to internal reviews and approvals. Preparations at the time included setting the portfolio’s risk parameters and target returns, alongside work on its operating framework and investment infrastructure.

The bank said an annual report on management results would go to Kazakhstan’s Council for National Fund Management.

The institution had separately addressed confusion over the Alem Crypto Fund. In a September 2025 statement, it said Alem was not a state-owned fund and did not have authority to manage sovereign reserves.

Its own reserve project, the statement explained, would sit within Kazakhstan’s sovereign reserves under central bank management. The National Investment Corporation, wholly owned by the bank, was selected for its experience managing alternative investments.

US securities disclosures follow separate reporting rules

For US-listed holdings, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Form 13F guidance sets reporting requirements for institutional investment managers. Foreign managers can fall within the rules when they use US interstate commerce and exercise investment discretion over at least $100 million in securities covered by Section 13(f).

The threshold applies to qualifying securities under management. Government-linked investment managers can be subject to the requirements, according to the SEC, whose guidance includes accounts organized under governmental authorities.

For managers required to submit a third-quarter 2026 report, the SEC lists Nov. 16 as the filing deadline. The fourth-quarter deadline is Feb. 16, 2027.

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