On 28 November 2025, Resolution No. PP-359 of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 27 November 2025 (the “Resolution”) entered into force, introducing comprehensive measures aimed at implementing modern financial technologies and IT solutions within the financial and banking sectors.
I. Overview of the Resolution
The Resolution reflects the Government’s intention to establish an innovation-driven environment, attract international capital, promote the use of cryptocurrencies and stable tokens, and support incubation programmes for start-ups.
The Resolution sets out development targets intended to stimulate the expansion of the national fintech sector during 2026–2030, including:
attracting USD 1 billion in foreign investment into fintech start-ups;
increasing the number of market participants to at least 200 companies;
establishing no fewer than 100 start-ups that have successfully completed incubation and acceleration programmes;
training at least 5,000 young professionals in financial technologies; and
conducting pilot testing of digital currencies and stable tokens backed by national or foreign currencies for use as a means of payment.
Development of Fintech Infrastructure and Project Support
Pursuant to the Resolution, from 1 January 2026 a special legal regime in the form of a “regulatory sandbox” will be introduced, permitting the circulation of stable tokens as a means of payment. This regime will apply within the framework of pilot projects aimed at establishing payment systems based on distributed ledger technology. The implementation procedure and operational timeframe of the regulatory sandbox will be determined by the National Agency for Perspective Projects (“NAPP”) and the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the “CBU”).
In addition, from 1 January 2026, legal entities resident in Uzbekistan will be entitled to issue tokenised shares and bonds. A separate trading platform for the placement of such instruments will be established on stock exchanges.
Furthermore, the CBU and the NAPP have been instructed to:
approve, by February 2026, the procedure governing the issuance and circulation of tokenised securities; and
by May 2026, conduct an assessment of the cybersecurity compliance of the information systems used for the issuance of tokenised shares and bonds.
Amendments to the Regulation of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (the “Providers”)
The Resolution supplements previously adopted licensing requirements and regulatory conditions applicable to Providers.
In particular, Presidential Resolution No. PP-3832 of 3 July 2018 (“PP-3832”) has been amended to include obligations relating to advertising compliance, including prohibitions on:
making representations regarding the effectiveness or profitability of activities involving crypto-assets;
portraying transactions involving crypto-assets as an easy means of enrichment; and
indicating that crypto-assets may be used as a means of payment within the territory of Uzbekistan, except in cases expressly permitted by law.
The rights of certain Providers have also been clarified and the conditions for conducting business have been improved. Specifically, in the context of transactions conducted through electronic platforms, crypto-shops are expressly permitted to retain clients’ funds from the moment a transaction is initiated until the relevant record is entered into the distributed ledger.
Further Regulatory Developments
The introduction of new rules permitting the use of stable tokens as a means of payment demonstrates that Uzbekistan is gradually developing a controlled framework for the integration of such instruments into financial circulation.
Stable tokens are defined as digital assets backed by national or foreign currency. This creates an opportunity to test widely used stablecoins, including Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), within pilot initiatives. At this stage, their use will remain limited to the regulatory sandbox regime and will be subject to enhanced regulatory oversight.
The Resolution represents a significant step forward, laying the foundation for the use of tokens in payment systems and creating the conditions for the further development of the crypto-assets market. Further developments are expected following the publication by the NAPP and the CBU of more detailed requirements and procedures, which should enable the market to progress with greater certainty and predictability.
