Four PillarsFour PillarsAsia Digital Asset Policy Center

Central Asia

Turkmenistan

One of Asia's most closed economies legalised mining and crypto exchanges on 1 January 2026, with the central bank as gatekeeper.

Ask Asia Navigator about Turkmenistan →

Licences

What it takes to operate in Turkmenistan: 4 licences, who issues each, what it covers and who holds one.

Virtual asset service provider licence

CBT · Law on Virtual Assets No. 180-VII (2025), Articles 27 to 34

Buying, selling and exchanging virtual assets, transfers, custody, and financial services for primary token offerings, including as a crypto exchange.

What it takes
  • Legal entity registered in Turkmenistan
  • No owners or officers resident in offshore zones or holding offshore bank accounts
  • Client assets held in cold wallets under central bank rules
  • AML/CFT measures and client identification
  • Charter capital as set by Turkmen legislation
No public count

Virtual asset exchange operator registration

CBT · Law on Virtual Assets No. 180-VII (2025), Article 30

Buying, selling and exchanging virtual assets in the operator's own name, entered in the central bank's register of exchange operators.

What it takes
  • Central bank licence and entry in the register of exchange operators
  • Resident or non-resident founders permitted
  • No state or national words in the company name
No public count

Miner registration

CBT · Law on Virtual Assets No. 180-VII (2025), Articles 16 to 19

Private mining by individual entrepreneurs and industrial mining by companies, resident or non-resident.

What it takes
  • Electronic state registration under a Cabinet of Ministers procedure
  • Registration certificate with QR code, valid indefinitely
  • Electricity supplied under tariffs set by the Ministry of Energy
  • Hidden mining on third-party hardware is banned
No public count

Registration of virtual asset issuance and public offering

CBT · Law on Virtual Assets No. 180-VII (2025), Articles 20 to 25

Issuing and publicly placing secured or unsecured virtual assets, recorded in a unified state register.

What it takes
  • State registration before issue or public placement
  • Payment of state duty and registration fees
  • Issuer sets the rights attached to secured tokens within the law
No public count

More in Central Asia

Members · free

Sign in to see every licence and holder

One free account opens every market's regulation, licences and companies, the AI tools, letters and the magazine.