Crypto License in Uzbekistan (2026)

Licensing regimeLast reviewed 2026-08-24

Do you need a crypto license in Uzbekistan?

Yes, if you run an exchange, a depository or a crypto-store. NAPP licenses those three activities plus mining pools, and the crypto-exchange license alone carries a one-time state fee of 73,400 times the base calculation value, about UZS 30.2 billion or USD 2.5 million. Mining itself needs no license, only e-registration. Residents may trade only through licensed Uzbek providers, and paying for goods in crypto stays illegal.

Read this before you plan an application

Using crypto-assets to pay for goods or services, or accepting them as payment, is prohibited under Decree UP-121 even for licensed firms. Residents may trade only through NAPP-licensed Uzbek providers. Access to unlicensed foreign exchanges has been blocked since August 2022, and NAPP has fined at least one of them for continuing to serve Uzbek users.

Uzbekistan licenses crypto more tightly than any of its neighbors, and prices it accordingly. Presidential Decree UP-121 of 27 April 2022 made the National Agency of Perspective Projects the sole regulator, and NAPP issues four separate licenses: crypto-exchange, crypto-depository, crypto-store and mining pool. Fees are set as multiples of the base calculation value, so they move whenever that benchmark does. A crypto-exchange license runs to 73,400 times BCV, roughly UZS 30.2 billion or USD 2.5 million at the value in force since 1 August 2025, which is one of the steepest published entry prices anywhere. Mining is the exception, needing only e-registration with NAPP rather than a license at all.

Regime: Licensing regime
Regulator: National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP)
Framework: Presidential Decree UP-121 on crypto-asset turnover (2022)
Application fee: One-time state fee, registered by the Ministry of Justice on 17 December 2024: 73,400 times BCV for a crypto-exchange (about UZS 30.2 billion or USD 2.5 million), 7,000 times BCV for a crypto-depository, 3,700 for a crypto-store and 3,000 for a mining pool.
Annual fee: Charged monthly rather than annually. NAPP's order of 19 March 2024 set 740 times BCV a month for a crypto-exchange (about UZS 305 million or USD 25,600) and 185 times BCV for a crypto-store (about UZS 76 million or USD 6,400). The depository and mining-pool classes pay less.

The framework

Presidential Decree No. UP-121, signed 27 April 2022, created the special regulatory regime for crypto-asset turnover in Uzbekistan and handed licensing to the National Agency of Perspective Projects. The licensing regulation itself was registered by the Ministry of Justice under number 3380 on 15 August 2022. Since 1 January 2023 residents and Uzbek companies may buy, sell and exchange crypto-assets only through providers NAPP has licensed, which is why the roster of licensed firms matters more here than in most markets.

The four licenses

NAPP licenses crypto-exchange, crypto-depository, crypto-store and mining-pool activity separately. There is no single crypto license: an operator that wants to run an exchange and also hold client assets in custody needs two. The register turns over. NAPP revoked license CE#0003, held by KOBEA GROUP LLC for the UzNEX exchange, by Order No. 45 of 25 May 2026 at the operator's own request, which retired the first licensed crypto exchange the country had.

What it costs, and why the number moves

Every fee is quoted as a multiple of the base calculation value (bazaviy hisoblash miqdori), the benchmark Uzbekistan uses for fines, duties and state fees. The BCV has been UZS 412,000 since 1 August 2025 and rises to UZS 440,000 on 1 September 2026, so every figure below climbs about 6.8 percent on that date.

The Ministry of Justice registered the current one-time state fees on 17 December 2024: 73,400 times BCV for a crypto-exchange, 7,000 for a crypto-depository, 3,700 for a crypto-store and 3,000 for a mining pool. At the value in force that is roughly UZS 30.2 billion (about USD 2.5 million), UZS 2.9 billion (USD 242,000), UZS 1.5 billion (USD 128,000) and UZS 1.24 billion (USD 104,000). The exchange figure is an outlier by design: NAPP said it set the fees with international practice in mind and expects the level to keep fraudulent projects out. In practice it prices out anyone who is not already well capitalized.

A monthly charge sits on top of the one-time fee. NAPP's order of 19 March 2024 raised the crypto-exchange charge from 400 to 740 times BCV a month and the crypto-store charge from 20 to 185, which works out at about UZS 305 million (USD 25,600) and UZS 76 million (USD 6,400) a month at the current BCV. The agency's stated aim was to double state revenue from the sector.

Mining is the exception

Mining crypto-assets requires no license. Only legal entities may do it, and only after compulsory e-registration with NAPP: mining must happen at the address given in the registration, in compliance with fire safety and sanitary norms, and with a separate electricity meter installed. Power has to come from solar generation or from the general grid at a higher tariff during peak hours. Operating a mining pool for other people, as opposed to mining on your own account, is the part that needs a license.

Karakalpakstan is now a dedicated mining zone. Presidential Resolution PQ-143, signed 17 April 2026 and in force from 20 April, created the Besqala Mining Valley across the whole republic. Residents are admitted by permit from the zone directorate and are exempt from taxes and state fees on mining income until 1 January 2035, in exchange for a charge of 1 percent of monthly revenue.

What to watch

Using crypto-assets as a means of payment, or accepting them as payment, is prohibited under the Decree, and that has not loosened as the rest of the regime liberalized. Uzbekistan enforces the licensing rule against foreign platforms too: access to eight exchanges including Binance, Kraken and Huobi was blocked in August 2022, and NAPP fined Binance 300 times BCV, about UZS 102 million at the value then in force, for operating without a license, then went to court when the fine went unpaid.

License classes in Uzbekistan

License classes, the activities each covers, and their fees and capital requirements where published.
Class	Covers	Fee	Capital
Crypto-exchange	Operating a crypto-asset exchange where users trade crypto against the som or against other crypto-assets.	73,400 times BCV one time (about UZS 30.2 billion or USD 2.5 million), plus 740 times BCV a month	Not published
Crypto-depository	Holding and safekeeping clients' crypto-assets in custody.	7,000 times BCV one time (about UZS 2.9 billion or USD 242,000), plus a monthly charge	Not published
Crypto-store	Buying and selling crypto-assets on the operator's own account, the exchanger model.	3,700 times BCV one time (about UZS 1.5 billion or USD 128,000), plus 185 times BCV a month	Not published
Mining pool	Pooling the hashrate of third-party miners and distributing block rewards among them.	3,000 times BCV one time (about UZS 1.24 billion or USD 104,000), plus a monthly charge	Not published

What the application requires

An Uzbek legal entity: natural persons cannot hold any of the four licenses
A separate license per activity, since there is no combined crypto license
Payment of the one-time state fee for the category before the license issues
The recurring monthly charge, payable from the date the license is granted
For mining, compulsory e-registration with NAPP in place of a license
Mining only at the address stated in the e-registration
Fire safety and sanitary compliance at the mining site
A separate electricity metering device for the mining equipment
Power from solar generation or from the grid at the higher peak tariff
No use or acceptance of crypto-assets as a means of payment

The application process

Incorporate in Uzbekistan
Set up the legal entity that will hold the license. Individuals cannot apply.
Choose the activity
Decide which of the four licenses the business needs, and file separately for each one.
File with NAPP
Submit the application and supporting documents to the agency in Tashkent, by email, by post or in person.
Pay the state fee
Settle the one-time fee for the category, calculated at the base calculation value in force on the day of payment.
License issued and registered
NAPP grants the license for that activity and enters it in the public register of licenses and permits.
Start the monthly charge
The recurring charge runs from the date the license is obtained, not from the first revenue.

Costs and taxation

Uzbek license fees are published only as multiples of the base calculation value (BCV), so the som and dollar amounts here are conversions rather than figures NAPP prints. The BCV has been UZS 412,000 since 1 August 2025 and rises to UZS 440,000 on 1 September 2026, lifting every fee by about 6.8 percent on that date. Dollar equivalents use roughly 11,900 UZS to the US dollar, the rate through August 2026.

Who is licensed today

NAPP publishes an electronic register of licenses and permits for crypto-asset service providers, alongside a separate list of the crypto-exchanges specially authorized to offer foreign citizens a special tax regime. Check any counterparty against it before funding an account, because licenses are withdrawn as well as granted: UzNEX lost its in May 2026. See the official register.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does a crypto exchange license cost in Uzbekistan?

The one-time state fee is 73,400 times the base calculation value, about UZS 30.2 billion or USD 2.5 million at the BCV in force since 1 August 2025. A licensed exchange also pays 740 times BCV every month, roughly UZS 305 million or USD 25,600.

Do I need a license to mine bitcoin in Uzbekistan?

No. Mining needs no license, only compulsory e-registration with NAPP, and only legal entities may do it. Running a mining pool for other people is the activity that does require one.

Can I pay for things with bitcoin in Uzbekistan?

No. Decree UP-121 prohibits using crypto-assets as a means of payment or accepting them as payment, and that applies to licensed firms as well as to everyone else.

Can I use Binance or another foreign exchange from Uzbekistan?

Not lawfully. Since 1 January 2023 residents may transact only through NAPP-licensed Uzbek providers, access to unlicensed foreign platforms has been blocked since August 2022, and NAPP fined Binance 300 times BCV for serving Uzbek users without a license.

Who regulates crypto businesses in Uzbekistan?

The National Agency of Perspective Projects, created under Presidential Decree UP-121 of 27 April 2022. NAPP licenses service providers, registers miners and maintains the public register of licenses.

Why is the exchange license so much more expensive than the others?

NAPP said it set the fees with international practice in mind and expects the level to keep fraudulent projects out of the market. The exchange fee is about ten times the depository fee and twenty times the crypto-store fee.

Sources

Buying bitcoin as an individual is a different question entirely: how to buy bitcoin in Uzbekistan covers exchanges, payment methods and legality for residents, and the crypto license hub compares every jurisdiction we track.