Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a law on virtual assets, which will legalize cryptocurrency mining and crypto exchanges in the republic from January 1, 2026. The text of the document was published on Friday in the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.
The law defines the legal and organizational basis for the use of virtual assets and regulates activities in this area in the country. The document includes a list of key concepts, including blockchain, tokens, mining, smart contracts, as well as service providers of virtual assets.
Types of mining, as well as requirements for exchange operators and crypto exchanges are separately defined.
The document does not apply to securities, currencies, electronic money, bank deposits and gambling activities.
The law establishes that mining can be private and industrial. Private mining is carried out by an individual entrepreneur – resident and (or) non-resident of Turkmenistan. Industrial mining is carried out by a legal entity – resident and (or) non-resident of the country. Hidden mining is prohibited on the territory of the country. All miners must undergo mandatory state registration with the Central Bank in electronic form. The certificate is issued indefinitely.
According to the document, virtual asset service providers (crypto exchanges) may be legal entities registered in Turkmenistan, acting on the basis of a license and providing services related to virtual assets established by law.
Crypto exchanges are obliged to ensure protection of personal information and virtual assets of their customers. The following persons may not be founders or participants (shareholders), officials of crypto exchanges: individuals permanently residing in an offshore zone and (or) legal entities registered in it – non-residents of Turkmenistan; individuals and legal entities with bank accounts in offshore zones; political parties, trade unions and other public associations; legal entities and individuals in respect of whom there is information about involvement in terrorism, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; legal entities and legal entities and individuals with respect to whom there is information about involvement in terrorism, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; legal entities and legal entities with respect to whom there is information about involvement in terrorism, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The procedure for the establishment, operation and reporting of crypto exchanges is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The law introduces restrictions on the use of state symbols in the crypto industry. Miners, issuers of virtual assets and providers of crypto services are prohibited to use the words “state”, “Turkmenistan”, “Turkmen”, ‘Turkmen’, “national” in any form, in any language and in any combinations in their names and symbols.
There are also strict requirements for advertising of cryptocurrencies: it must contain warnings about risks, information about possible total loss of funds and the fact that virtual assets are not secured by the state. It is prohibited to use images of minors in advertising and to present cryptocurrency transactions as an easy way to get rich.
The state is not liable for the depreciation or loss of virtual assets.
According to the law, miners and service providers of virtual assets are obliged to take measures to combat money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to implement the requirements of the legislation of Turkmenistan in this area.
Turkmenistan is ready to export natural gas to European countries, said Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, former head of the country and current chairman of the People’s Council. He emphasized the strategic importance of cooperation with Europe in the field of energy resources, noting that the European market is one of the largest in the world.
Berdimuhamedov drew attention to the fact that Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world ranking in terms of natural gas reserves. “I will give another concrete example: the Galkynyş field ranks first in the world in terms of gas reserves. Its reserves amount to 27.4 trillion cubic meters. These figures show that our country’s export potential allows us to meet the energy needs not only of our own, but also of our partners in the region and beyond,” the politician said.
Active Group and Experts Club conducted a joint study on the attitudes of Ukrainians toward the countries of East Asia and the Middle East. The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency in June 2024. The research was presented by Maksym Urakin and Oleksandr Poznyi. The results of the study are as follows:
The results of the survey are as follows:
Completely positive – 5.7
Mostly positive – 26.1 %.
Mostly negative – 19.1 %.
Completely negative – 5.5
Difficult to answer – 43.5%.
Positive – Negative – 7.2
On October 10, 1992, the Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Ukraine and Turkmenistan was signed in Ashgabat. This day marked the beginning of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In 1995, the embassies of Ukraine and Turkmenistan were opened in Kyiv and Ashgabat.
A joint study by Active Group and Experts Club on the attitudes of Ukrainians towards East Asia and the Middle East was conducted in April-May 2024. It covers such countries as Turkey, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, India, China, Republic of Korea, DPRK, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria, and Iraq. Full information on the research is available on the website of the Club of Experts at
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced plans to hold a trilateral Turkey-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan summit.
“Noting that (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan invited Turkmen leader Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Turkey, Oktay said that a trilateral Turkey-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan summit would be held after the visit,” Turkish TV channel TRT Haber reported.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov held a telephone conversation, during which they agreed to establish a Business Council uniting the businesses of the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said.
“Today, it is the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries that are the driving force of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Turkmenistan. Together we are reaching a qualitatively new level of interaction,” the Ukrainian MFA press service said, citing Kuleba on Friday.
Kuleba confirmed the interest of the Ukrainian side in the participation of leading Ukrainian companies in the implementation of major business projects in Turkmenistan. In turn, Meredov said the Turkmen side sees Ukrainian companies as reliable partners and is interested in expanding cooperation.
“The heads of Ukrainian and Turkmen diplomacy agreed to create a Business Council, which will unite Ukrainian and Turkmen businesses on a permanent basis,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The head of the Ukrainian MFA proposed expanding bilateral cooperation to new sectors, in particular, medical tourism and agriculture.
Kuleba also noted the importance of restoring direct flights between Ashgabat and Kyiv and Ashgabat and Lviv for the revitalization of interpersonal and business contacts.
“Inter-human ties best strengthen relations between our societies and states,” he said.
The ministers discussed preparations for the fifth meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Turkmen Commission on Economic, Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation in Kyiv.
The sides paid special attention to the issues of mutual support of initiatives within international organizations, as well as interaction in the education and culture sectors.
Meredov highly appreciated the extremely friendly attitude of Ukraine towards Turkmen students studying in Ukraine. Kuleba said he would cordially welcome the increase in the number of students from Turkmenistan in Ukrainian educational institutions.
A separate subject of conversation was the prospects for the development of new logistics routes between Central Europe and Central Asia, in which Ukraine and Turkmenistan can play a key role.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has received credentials from Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Ukraine Toila Ataev, and expressed belief that both sides would take effective steps to further develop Ukrainian-Turkmen mutually beneficial cooperation.
“The two noted the interest of Ukraine and Turkmenistan in the intensification of political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries. Special attention was paid to strengthening cooperation in the construction industry,” the presidential press service said on Friday.
Zelensky expressed hope that the distribution of COVID-19 would not interfere with plans to intensify bilateral dialogue, and conveyed an invitation to President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow to visit Ukraine.
