Kraken parent Payward wins in-principle approval to enter Kazakhstan

Kraken's parent company Payward has received in-principle approval to expand into Kazakhstan, a market that once hosted roughly 18% of global bitcoin mining activity. The exchange plans to offer trading, investment services and digital asset custody there as the country shifts from luring miners with cheap power to building a regulated crypto framework. Traders would read this as another sign of exchange expansion into regulated emerging markets, a modest positive for crypto infrastructure even if it does not move prices directly.