Permission for Uzbek residents to trade cryptocurrencies benefits UzNEX

Kobea Group CEO Lee Chang-yong, right, receives a license for cryptocurrency exchange from Davron Maksudov, deputy director of the National Agency of Project Management under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in this December 2019 file photo. Courtesy of Kobea Group

By Park Jae-hyuk

Korean-owned Kobea Group's UzNEX, which has been the only licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Uzbekistan since 2019, is expected to enjoy benefits from the country's new law that allows its residents to trade cryptocurrencies.

The law, which came into effect Monday, allows Uzbek residents to carry out all types of cryptocurrency trading, such as exchanging virtual assets for the national currency and selling such assets to non-residents in exchange for foreign currencies.

In addition, Uzbek companies and citizens have been able to issue and distribute tokens as well as list them on a cryptocurrency exchange.

Kobea said it received its license in December 2019 from the National Agency of Project Management under the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan and has attracted large investments from global companies, including EMURGO, a global blockchain technology company serving as the commercial arm of Cardano that issued the ADA cryptocurrency.

“We have collaborated with the Korea Blockchain Enterprise Promotion Association and the Korea-Uzbekistan Business Association to help blockchain companies expand their presence abroad and to enhance economic ties between the two countries,” Kobea Group CEO Lee Chang-yong said. “We hope our company serves as a foothold for Korean firms to expand their presence abroad.”