Bitfinex Launches Security Token Platform Under AIFC In Kazakhstan

Crypto exchange Bitfinex opens the first day of trading its security token platform (STO) under Astana International Financial (AIFC) Centre in Kazakhstan.

Announced back in September 2021, the new STO platform is regulated under Astana International Financial Centre in Kazakhstan. AIFC is a special economic zone, which has an independent common law court system. The platform is not available to citizens or residents of countries like Canada and the United States.

The announcement detailed that Bitfinex Securities is debuting trading with the Blockstream Mining Note (BMN), a security token offering qualified non-U.S. investors an option to mine Bitcoin or invest in BTC mining stocks using the associated hash rate of BMN. The token is issued on the Liquid sidechain of Bitcoin and will be trading against BTC and the U.S. dollar, enabling accredited investors to obtain exposure to Bitcoin mining.

The CTO of Bitfinex, Paolo Ardoino commented:

“This underlines a pent-up demand among accredited investors for the opportunity to obtain exposure to Bitcoin mining, made available by BMN’s enterprise-grade facilities.”

Bitcoin mining industry has been diminishing in Kazakhstan as the local government was cracking down unlicensed crypto mining and limited the energy use for mining activities.

In August 2021, Kazakhstan was one of the world’s biggest BTC mining counties in terms of hash rate distribution, housing over 18% of the global BTC hash rate, following only the United States, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.