Autor Cointelegraph by Nate Kostar

Tether has signed an agreement with Kazakhstan’s central bank and the Alatau City Authority to explore a tenge-pegged stablecoin and the tokenization of real-world assets.Under the memorandum of understanding, the parties will study international stablecoin issuance models, identify potential use cases and develop a proposal for a tenge-backed stablecoin pilot, according to Tether.The agreement also calls for the development of an asset tokenization framework, including identifying assets for potential tokenization and launching a pilot project in Alatau that could use Tether’s Hadron platform.Tether, the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Alatau City Authority will also hold workshops and training programs covering stablecoin issuance, reserve management and real-world asset tokenization.National Bank of Kazakhstan Deputy Governor Binur Zhalenov said the central bank plans to study international approaches to stablecoin issuance and tokenization while prioritizing financial stability, transaction transparency and investor protection.Related: Balaji’s Network School turns to Kazakhstan amid Malaysia setbackKazakhstan expands digital asset pushKazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, has accelerated its push into digital assets this year, rolling out initiatives including stablecoins, tokenization, crypto payments and mining.In September, the government approved a 65-measure plan across 10 areas aimed at developing the country’s digital asset industry. The plan includes measures to expand real-world asset tokenization, digital payments, international settlements and crypto mining.The government also instructed the Energy and Digital ministries to develop a mechanism for using gas- and coal-fired power generation to supply mining centers. Kazakhstan ranked among the world’s top 10 countries for Bitcoin production in 2025, according to the government.Kazakhstan’s National Strategic Crypto Reserve, meanwhile, has reached $700 million, while 34 digital asset projects have completed testing in the central bank’s regulatory sandbox, according to the announcement.BitcoinTreasuries.net ranks Kazakhstan seventh among governments in its database for Bitcoin holdings, with an estimated 3,544 BTC worth about $294 million.Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NETMagazine: Capital starting to rotate back to crypto from AI: Raoul Pal

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The UK government has appointed six major banks to lead the issuance of its first digitally native government bond, with the pilot expected by the first quarter of 2027.Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest and RBC Capital Markets were named joint lead managers for the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) following a competitive procurement process. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby announced the appointments Tuesday during a keynote at UK Digital Assets Week. The banks will provide underwriting, investor engagement and distribution services for the pilot issuance.Source: Lucy RigbyDIGIT will be issued on a platform operating within the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox and will test the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) across the bond’s issuance and lifecycle, including onchain settlement. The government said the pilot is intended to explore the use of DLT in sovereign debt markets while encouraging the development of digital financial infrastructure in the UK.The project follows HSBC’s appointment in February as the pilot’s DLT supplier and a July agreement between HSBC and the London Stock Exchange Group to develop a digital securities depository link.In an X post on Tuesday, Rigby said the appointments mark an important step toward issuing the digital gilt early next year, calling DIGIT “a practical test of new financial market infrastructure.”Related: Crypto adoption blooming in Germany, while UK is falling ‘behind,’ says CoinShares researcherDigital bond faces infrastructure testIn comments shared with Cointelegraph, Richard Baker, CEO and founder of Tokenovate and a member of HM Treasury’s Wholesale Digital Markets Industry Taskforce, said the pilot will need to address how digital securities connect with existing financial infrastructure:On-chain settlement will need to connect with cash, custody and existing settlement infrastructure, with common standards and legal certainty keeping lifecycle events consistent across systems.Baker said that building that connectivity from the outset could help demonstrate whether tokenization can improve liquidity and market efficiency without creating new digital silos.Marius Jurgilas, CEO of Axiology and a former central banker, added that the potential impact of DIGIT could extend beyond government borrowing:Connecting issuance, distribution, trading and settlement through regulated infrastructure could broaden their investor base and create more funding options. Government support for that development can help establish the foundations for a market in which capital moves more easily between countries and reaches a wider range of issuers.Magazine: Too big to pause: Could an AI slowdown crash the economy?

A majority of affluent investors across seven of the biggest economies hold digital assets, with crypto accounting for around 10% of their portfolios on average, according to a new CoinShares survey.The survey covered 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Digital asset ownership ranged from 54% in Sweden to about 70% in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland.At least 85% of current digital asset investors in five of the seven countries said they planned to increase their exposure in 2026, with as much as 91% in the US, UK and Germany.CoinShares survey of affluent investors across seven countries. Source: CoinSharesThe February 2026 crypto market downturn did little to dampen that appetite. In all seven countries, more respondents said the sell-off made them more likely to invest in digital assets than less likely.That resilience appears to reflect a longer-term view of the asset class. Long-term appreciation and diversification were the leading reasons respondents gave for investing in crypto, while speculation ranked last. Just 6% identified primarily as short-term traders.Bitcoin (BTC) remained the most widely held digital asset, owned by 80% of digital asset investors on average, though 89% of BTC investors also held other digital assets. Meanwhile, 77% of respondents believed BTC would play a significant role in the future global financial system, while 79% supported increased regulation of digital asset markets.Crypto exposure was particularly high among younger investors. That cohort allocated more to digital assets than older investors in all seven countries and roughly twice as much in four of them.Related: Wealth in retirement: A use case for Bitcoin in IRAsAdvisers lag crypto investorsThe survey also found signs of a disconnect between affluent investors and their financial advisers. Roughly four in 10 respondents in Switzerland, France, the US and Germany who worked with an adviser said they found them overly cautious about digital assets.The respondents’ view on advisers was echoed by Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals and Edelman Financial Engines.Edelman told Cointelegraph that financial advisers remain slow adopters of digital assets, with many lacking the knowledge or incentive to learn about the asset class. He said:Advisors are busy; they are already operating a successful practice filled with happy clients — so why bother learning something new? — and most are getting little to no encouragement from their firms.He added that some firms prohibit advisers from discussing crypto or offering crypto-related investments to clients. As a result, he said advisers may not know which of their clients own crypto and could be missing opportunities to provide tax, estate-planning and philanthropic services around those holdings.How much crypto should investors hold?Edelman challenged CoinShares’ finding that crypto allocations among affluent investors average around 10%, saying his own research suggests allocations of 2% to 5% are far more common.Despite questioning the survey’s figure, Edelman recommends allocations ranging from 10% to 40%, depending on risk tolerance. He recommends 10% for conservative portfolios, 25% for moderate portfolios and 40% for aggressive portfolios.“As the asset class matures, 10% allocations or higher will become the norm,” Edelman said. “The sooner people do that, the better off they will be.”Edelman’s recommended allocations stand in contrast to broader skepticism about using crypto for retirement savings. An August survey from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that 77% of Americans considered cryptocurrency in workplace retirement plans risky, including 46% who viewed it as very risky.Americans view of crypto in retirement plans. Source: National Institute of Retirement SecurityMagazine: Peter Brandt says Bitcoin may hit $600K by 2029, calls XRP a ‘fool coin’

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.