Telegram Ads in Kazakhstan — Crypto Licensing, the AIFC and Setup (2026)
TL;DR
Kazakhstan is a country option in the Telegram ad form on Euro and TON accounts alike. What we can say about it, and what we cannot:
- Price: a thin first reading. €1.09 CPM and a 0.46% CTR on about 11,000 impressions across two Euro accounts (as of 3 October 2026). Not a market price yet.
- Audience. 19.5 million internet users at the end of 2025, 93.4% of the population, with a median age of 29.7 (DataReportal, Digital 2026: Kazakhstan). Telegram publishes no user count by country, so we quote none.
- Two languages. Kazakh and Russian. The Law on Advertising sets the order between them — see the ad copy section.
- Crypto has been licensed nationwide since 1 May 2026. Exchange operators outside the AIFC are licensed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan; the Astana International Financial Centre keeps its own regime under the AFSA (National Bank, 30 April 2026).
- Gambling. The Law on Advertising prohibits advertising of online casinos and bookmaker advertising on online platforms; Telegram’s guidelines prohibit gambling ads as well.
Offers with no licence question — SaaS, B2B, e-commerce, education, consumer goods and services — target Kazakhstan like any other country. Complying with Kazakh law is the advertiser’s responsibility; this guide maps the rules and links the sources, and it is not legal advice.
What changed in 2026
Until this year the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Kazakhstan was confined to the AIFC (Expert, 17 November 2025). Three things changed the picture:
- A national licence. Law No. 259-VIII of 16 January 2026 amended the Law on Digital Assets. Its new article 12-1, in force since 1 May 2026, allows issuing unsecured digital assets — the law’s term for cryptocurrencies — and organising their circulation only through exchange operators licensed by the National Bank, trading platforms registered with it, or exchanges and licensed participants of the AIFC.
- Not money. The same article says unsecured digital assets are not recognised as a means of payment in Kazakhstan. Buying, selling and holding through a licensed provider is the legal route; paying for goods with crypto is not.
- A state fund. In September 2025 the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development set up the Alem Crypto Fund, registered in the AIFC and managed by Qazaqstan Venture Group, to build long-term digital-asset reserves; its first purchase was BNB, through Binance Kazakhstan (Cointelegraph, 29 September 2025).
For an advertiser this means a crypto offer aimed at Kazakhstan now has a licence question with a concrete answer: which of the two tracks the provider sits on, and what its licence number is.
Who you reach in Kazakhstan
Telegram does not publish user numbers by country, and the figures that circulate for Kazakhstan could not be traced to a primary source, so we quote none. What can be sourced:
- A connected, young country. 19.5 million internet users at the end of 2025, 93.4% of the population; median age 29.7; 58.7% of people live in cities (DataReportal, Digital 2026: Kazakhstan). Those are internet users, not Telegram users.
- Android first, but not by much. Android carried about 69% of mobile web traffic in Kazakhstan in September 2026 and iOS 31% (StatCounter). That is web traffic, not Telegram’s own split; the ad form lets you target each device type separately.
- Kazakh and Russian. Telegram’s ad guidelines (§4.7) say the language of the targeted channel should match the language of the ad and of the destination, so each language needs its own creative and its own campaign.
- No measured split. We have no data on how the Kazakhstan audience divides by city, language or interest, and we publish no percentages for it.
What it costs — a thin first reading
Our Kazakhstan-only data is small. On Euro accounts, campaigns targeted at Kazakhstan alone have delivered about 11,000 impressions across two accounts (as of 3 October 2026):
| Metric | Kazakhstan, Euro accounts |
|---|---|
| CPM | €1.09 |
| CTR | 0.46% |
| Cost per click | €0.236 |
| Impressions | ~11k |
| Accounts | 2 |
Eleven thousand impressions is far too thin to call a market price: treat €1.09 as a first reading. We have no TON-account reading for Kazakhstan to publish. We do not publish a per-niche split for Kazakhstan because the base is too thin. The CPM by country guide has measured prices for countries with a broader base.
Two licensing tracks: the National Bank and the AIFC
A digital-asset business in Kazakhstan answers to one of two regulators, and an ad should name the right one.
- The National Bank of Kazakhstan — everything outside the AIFC. Since 1 May 2026 it licenses operators of unsecured-digital-asset exchange and registers operators of digital-asset trading platforms and of digital-financial-asset platforms. The law distinguishes two kinds of asset: unsecured digital assets (cryptocurrencies) and digital financial assets, which include stablecoins backed by money and tokenised real assets (National Bank, 30 April 2026).
- The AIFC — a separate jurisdiction. The Astana International Financial Centre describes itself as an English common law based jurisdiction (AIFC) with its own regulator, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA). AFSA names Binance, Bybit and Bitfinex among the crypto platforms licensed there (AFSA), and a firm’s status can be checked in AFSA’s public register.
What that means for an ad:
- Name the right regulator. “Licensed by AFSA” is true only for an AIFC participant; “licensed by the National Bank” only for a holder of the national licence. The two are not interchangeable, and both can be checked.
- Put the licence in the ad. Article 6(4) of the Law on Advertising says that when the advertiser’s activity is subject to licensing, the ad must state the licence number and the name of the body that issued it.
- No promised income. Article 14 of the same law covers advertising of financial and investment services and of digital assets. It prohibits guaranteeing income from digital assets and giving any guarantee or promise of future returns, including by announcing growth in the price of a digital asset.
- Prices in tenge. Article 6(4-1): an ad for goods or services sold in Kazakhstan states prices in tenge.
- Foreign platforms. The Law on Digital Assets defines circulation as transactions made in Kazakhstan or with the participation of a citizen or resident of Kazakhstan (article 1). Whether a campaign for an exchange with no Kazakh licence falls under that is a question to settle with a Kazakh lawyer before launch, not after.
Ad copy that fits the rules
Telegram allows 160 characters per ad, so the licence line and the risk line have to be short. One rule decides the language: article 6(2) of the Law on Advertising says advertising in Kazakhstan runs in Kazakh and, at the advertiser’s discretion, also in Russian or other languages; the article exempts periodicals, internet resources and news agencies. Whether a placement in a messenger falls under that exemption is a question for local counsel — a Kazakh version next to the Russian one is the safe side.
Crypto exchange licensed in the AIFC (Russian):
{Бренд} — биржа цифровых активов, участник МФЦА. Лицензия AFSA №{номер}. Цифровые активы — высокий риск, вложенное можно потерять.
The same offer in Kazakh:
{Бренд} — цифрлық активтер биржасы, АХҚО қатысушысы. AFSA лицензиясы №{нөмір}. Цифрлық активтер — жоғары тәуекел.
Exchange operator licensed by the National Bank (Russian):
{Бренд} — обмен цифровых активов по лицензии Национального Банка РК №{номер}. Цифровые активы не являются средством платежа.
Fintech (Russian):
{Бренд}: переводы и платежи в тенге без комиссии. Лицензия №{номер}, {орган, выдавший лицензию}.
SaaS / B2B (Russian):
{Продукт}: автоматизация продаж в Telegram. Поддержка на русском и казахском. Тарифы в тенге.
Mini App game (Kazakh):
Telegram-дағы жаңа ойын — {атауы}. Достарыңмен бірге ойна. Тегін.
There is no example for a platform without a licence, on purpose: no wording turns an unlicensed service into a licensed one.
Adsly setup for Kazakhstan
- Pick a Euro account. It can link to a website as well as to a channel, bot or Mini App, add a custom button and have a declined ad escalated to a human through us. A TON account links to Telegram destinations only: channels, bots and Mini Apps. Both use the same targeting form since 22 August 2026, and Kazakhstan is not among the four countries where TON-funded ads are not served (Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine). Our only Kazakhstan reading so far comes from Euro accounts.
- Opening. A Euro account opens in 2 business days as a World account: its campaigns can target Kazakhstan or any other available country. Minimum ad budget: €500; €1,000 for crypto and for stocks and investing. Payment in any cryptocurrency, no KYC. Price your Euro account →
- Targeting. Country: Kazakhstan. Language: Kazakh and Russian as separate campaigns. Then topics or the channels your customers already follow. The form also has a Locations field that searches locations inside the selected country; which ones it offers for Kazakhstan is visible in the account, and we have not measured city-level campaigns.
- Frequency. Views per User: start at 1–2 (the form allows 1 to 4).
- Timing. We have no hour-of-day data for Kazakhstan, so we publish no “best hours”. Read the hourly analytics of your own campaigns.
- Access and moderation. You get the account itself on ads.telegram.org and the Adsly Pro Panel on app.adsly.pro. Over 98% of the 13,199 campaigns we measured in September 2026 had a moderation decision within three hours; across all niches, 95.6% of reviewed ads on our Euro accounts and 86.8% on TON accounts end up approved.
Where the legal line runs
Adsly opens the account and gives you the tools. We do not verify licences, and opening an account does not approve any ad. What may be advertised to people in Kazakhstan is decided by Kazakh law and by Telegram’s moderation, and that responsibility stays with the advertiser:
- Crypto. The licence question above is yours to answer before launch: a National Bank licence or AIFC status, with the number in the ad. Crypto is not a means of payment in Kazakhstan, so “pay with USDT” is not an offer to make there.
- Guaranteed returns. Prohibited twice: by article 14 of the Law on Advertising for financial services and digital assets, and by Telegram’s guidelines (§5.7), which list “offers of investment with guaranteed return” among prohibited financial content.
- Forex and other investment services. Article 14 and the licence-number rule of article 6(4) apply to them as well. Which licence covers your product — AFSA inside the AIFC or the financial-market regulator outside it — is a question for local counsel.
- Gambling and betting. Article 6(5-1) of the Law on Advertising prohibits advertising of electronic casinos and internet casinos. Article 13 prohibits bookmaker and totalizator advertising in mass media and on online platforms, with narrow exceptions such as the official sites of licensed bookmakers and sports-only media. Telegram’s ad guidelines prohibit gambling ads too: §5.6 says ads must not promote “online or offline gambling, gaming, or casino-based activities involving real money, prizes, or goods of any value” (guidelines). With us gambling runs in two formats only — an official gambling account, ad budget from €25,000, or a test launch on our infrastructure, ad budget from €5,000 — described in the gambling policy guide. Neither changes Kazakh law.
- Pharma and CBD. We do not take them, in any country.
- Everything else — SaaS, B2B, e-commerce, education, non-financial consumer offers — runs with Kazakhstan as the target and no licence layer.
FAQ
Is Telegram Ads available in Kazakhstan in 2026?
Yes. Kazakhstan is a country option in the ad form on Euro and TON accounts, and it is not among the four countries where TON-funded ads are not served. Our own measurement so far is small: about 11,000 impressions on two Euro accounts.
What is the AIFC and why does it matter for an ad?
The Astana International Financial Centre is a separate jurisdiction inside Kazakhstan, based on English common law, with its own regulator, the AFSA. Until 2026 it was the only place in the country where a crypto exchange could be licensed. It matters for copy because “licensed by AFSA” and “licensed by the National Bank” describe two different statuses, and the Law on Advertising requires the licence number and the issuing body in the ad.
Is crypto legal in Kazakhstan?
Yes, through licensed providers. Since 1 May 2026 the Law on Digital Assets allows the circulation of unsecured digital assets across the country through exchange operators licensed by the National Bank, alongside the AIFC regime. They are not a means of payment.
Should I run Russian or Kazakh creative?
Both, as separate campaigns: Telegram’s guidelines expect the ad, the channel and the destination to share a language. The Law on Advertising makes Kazakh the default language of advertising and Russian an addition at the advertiser’s discretion. We have no measured data on which language performs better, so test them against each other.
What about forex and CFDs?
They are licensed activities, so two rules of the Law on Advertising apply: the licence number and the issuing body go into the ad, and nothing may guarantee income. Which licence your product needs is a question for a Kazakh lawyer; an ad campaign cannot replace it.
Are Kazakhstan CPMs higher than Uzbekistan’s?
As far as our data goes, yes — but the Kazakhstan side is thin. On Euro accounts Uzbekistan measured €0.20 CPM on 6.4M impressions, while our Kazakhstan reading is €1.09 on only about 11,000 impressions, too little to call the gap established.
Can I target Almaty specifically?
The ad form has a Locations field that searches locations inside the selected country. Which locations it offers for Kazakhstan is visible in your account; we have not measured city-level campaigns, so we promise nothing about Almaty-only delivery. Targeting the channels an Almaty audience reads is the other route.
Can I mention the state crypto fund in my ad?
The Alem Crypto Fund exists and is public, but it is a state fund, not an endorsement of any product. Telegram’s guidelines prohibit misleading claims (§5.4); do not imply a link to the state that you do not have.
Does Adsly help with an AFSA or National Bank licence?
No. Licensing is a project for a Kazakh or AIFC law firm. We open the ad account and provide the tools to run it; we do not check licences, and opening the account is not an approval of your ad.
Kazakhstan now has two ways to be a licensed crypto business and one advertising law that applies to both. Get the regulator’s name and the licence number right, promise no income, keep casino and bookmaker offers out — and the rest is an ordinary campaign in two languages. Questions about the account: @adsly_pro.
