Kyrgyzstan is pursuing a twin track strategy by issuing a national stablecoin (KGST) at the same time and creating a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital som.

There are multiple sources that confirm Kyrgyzstan has actually been working closely with Binance on digital assets. President Sadyr Japarov also sat down with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to talk about developing blockchain and cryptocurrency, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in May 2025 with Kyrgyzstan’s National Agency for Investments on collaboration in crypto payment infrastructure and blockchain education.

April 2025: Kyrgyzstan has been developing its own digital currency, the som, President Japarov having signed into law enabling a CBDC pilot project.

May 2025: CZ has been appointed pro bono advisor of the President of Kyrgyzstan on the development of digital assets.

The digital som has been assigned legal tender status, and its pilot testing is actively being carried out based on a closed blockchain system developed in collaboration with a partner company.

The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan is conducting the CBDC pilot using a platform developed in partnership with the crypto firm Build Block TECH, while Binance serves as a key strategic advisor and ecosystem partner.

The pilot has been segmented into three consecutive phases:

• Interbank Transfers: Deploying the full platform at the National Bank, connecting commercial banks, and enabling interconnectivity among their mobile applications.
• Government Payments: Connecting the Central Treasury to the platform to enable secure social benefits and government payments.
• Accessibility & Resilience: Testing the functionality of the platform for offline transactions and payments in low-connect environments.

The National Bank has stated that after successfully piloting all three phases, the platform will be rolled out nationally and scaled.

The initial decision on whether to fully issue the CBDC was previously targeted for the end of 2026, but the current momentum suggests a faster trajectory.

Kyrgyzstan’s new stablecoin, reportedly named KGST, is pegged 1:1 to the national currency, the Kyrgyzstani som (KGS). The KGST is confirmed to be running on the BNB Chain, which aligns with the partnership with Binance. The country is also exploring the creation of a state cryptocurrency reserve, with proposals instructed to be submitted to the government within two months.

This reserve is slated to include BNB tokens. This is a firm plan/legal framework that is now in motion. Changpeng Zhao (CZ) announced on his social media platform X that BNB would be included in this national cryptocurrency reserve.

While the official government proposal may not have been submitted yet, CZ’s statement as an adviser indicates a high likelihood of this happening. After successfully piloting all three phases, the platform will be rolled out nationally and scaled. The digital som has been granted legal tender status.

 A5A7 Stablecoin project

Recent reporting from Reuters (October 2025) confirms that Kyrgyzstan is also associated with a separate stablecoin project referred to as A5A7 (also cited as “A7A5”).

According to Reuters, the A5A7 stablecoin is backed by the Russian ruble and runs on Binance’s BNB Chain as part of Kyrgyzstan’s broader digital-asset initiatives.

Reuters also reports that A5A7 has been linked to international sanction concerns, with Western authorities accusing it of having possibly facilitated cross-border transactions that bypass restrictions on Russia.

Kyrgyz authorities have not formally confirmed A5A7’s operational status within the national regulatory framework, and the coin’s precise relationship to the state-approved KGST stablecoin and the official digital som (CBDC) remains unclear. In other words, A5A7 appears to be a parallel or external project, not the same as Kyrgyzstan’s national som-pegged stablecoin (KGST).

While it has drawn global attention, its government endorsement and integration remain uncertain.

Earlier skepticism regarding an “A5A7” stablecoin being misinformation is no longer accurate, there is indeed a stablecoin by that name associated with Kyrgyzstan, while its purpose, legality, and compliance status are disputed.