Tether and Kazakhstan agree to study a tenge stablecoin and tokenization pilot

Tether, Kazakhstan's National Bank and the Alatau City Authority signed a memorandum announced October 7 to explore a tenge-linked stablecoin and asset tokenization. The agreement begins work on models and pilot proposals, with no new token issuance or commercial launch announced.

The stablecoin strand will examine international issuance models, identify possible uses in Kazakhstan and prepare a concept and pilot proposal tied to the country's national currency. Tether's announcement does not specify a token name, blockchain, reserve arrangement, redemption mechanism or issuing entity for that proposal.

A second strand concerns tokenized assets. The parties plan to identify suitable asset categories and design a tokenization model before launching a pilot within Alatau's jurisdiction. Hadron, Tether's platform for creating and managing tokenized assets, is identified as a potential technology option rather than a confirmed deployment.

The National Bank is Kazakhstan's central bank, while the Alatau authority administers the city under its special legal regime. Their participation puts policy and operating design alongside the technology work. Tether says the collaboration will include workshops on issuance, reserves and distributed ledgers for central-bank specialists and relevant government agencies.

Kazakhstan already has experience with a tenge stablecoin pilot. In a September 23, 2025 notice, the National Bank said Intebix launched a tenge-denominated stablecoin in its regulatory sandbox with Solana, Mastercard and Eurasian Bank. The central bank described that project as a way to connect digital assets with traditional financial infrastructure and expand crypto-fiat conversions.

The October 7 memorandum does not say its proposed pilot will replace or extend that earlier project. Crypto.news independently reported the new agreement and distinguished the study from approval or launch of a stablecoin.

National Bank Deputy Governor Binur Zhalenov's statement emphasizes financial stability, transparent transactions and investor protection as priorities for the research. The next identifiable steps are a stablecoin concept, a pilot proposal and a tokenization model for Alatau. Until those designs are published, the memorandum establishes the participants and work program, while leaving the operating terms unresolved.