Kyrgyzstan has shut down its gold-backed USDKG stablecoin less than a year after its $50 million launch, with the government ordering the liquidation of issuer EVA and state-owned Coin Nomad Exchange.
Summary
- Kyrgyzstan ordered USDKG issuer EVA and state-owned Coin Nomad Exchange into formal corporate liquidation proceedings.
- USDKG holders can request fiat or USDT redemptions through the project’s official contact email address.
- Britain sanctioned USDKG’s issuer in May, citing suspected business of economic importance to Russia’s government.
- 50 million USDKG remain listed as circulating while CoinGecko shows the token trading near $1.
- Coin Nomad began voluntary liquidation in September, giving creditors one month to submit their claims.
The official USDKG website said the project is ending under Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 639-t, dated Aug. 20, including its activities on blockchain networks. Holders can contact the project to exchange USDKG for fiat currency or USDT.
The government order says the measures were adopted to optimize state participation in commercial companies and improve management of state assets. The publicly accessible portion of the order revoked several earlier cabinet directives connected with the state’s corporate activity.
USDKG holders can exchange their tokens for fiat or USDT
For token holders, the project’s shutdown notice provides a redemption route but few other details. USDKG said holders should contact [email protected] to exchange their tokens for fiat money or USDT. The notice does not give a redemption deadline, state which fiat currencies are available or set out detailed verification requirements.
Local outlet Akchabar reported that the government’s Aug. 20 order directed the Finance Ministry to liquidate OJSC EVA, the renamed USDKG issuer, and OJSC Coin Nomad Exchange. The report said USDKG itself is not named directly in the order, while the project’s own website links the order to the termination of USDKG operations.
USDKG entered circulation in November 2025. As crypto.news previously reported in its coverage of Kyrgyzstan’s $50 million USDKG launch, the token was pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and issued by a company owned by Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Finance. The first deployment used Tron, with Ethereum support introduced later.
A reserve review published after the launch said Kreston Global inspected 30 gold bars weighing approximately 376 kilograms. The reserves were valued at $50.3 million using Nov. 28, 2025, LBMA pricing and were reported as sufficient to cover the first 50 million USDKG tokens.
In related coverage, crypto.news reported that an independent audit verified the gold supporting the first USDKG issuance. The audit included physical inspection, documentation checks and tests of the issuer’s control over its Ethereum and Tron wallets.
UK sanctioned the USDKG issuer in May
The shutdown follows a UK sanctions designation four months earlier. Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office designated OJSC Virtual Asset Issuer on May 26 under its Russia sanctions regime. The company’s USDKG name and USDKG.com website appeared in the formal sanctions notice.
The UK said there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” the company had supported or obtained a benefit from Russia’s government through business “of economic significance to the Government of Russia.” Measures included an asset freeze, trust-services restrictions, director disqualification measures and internet-services sanctions.
Britain announced the designation as part of a sanctions package targeting cryptocurrency and financial networks it said Russia used to evade restrictions. The government separately identified the Kremlin-backed A7 network in the package and accused it of using financial infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan. The specific designation notice for the USDKG issuer does not say USDKG itself was used by A7 or directly state that the token processed sanctions-evasion payments.
Two days after the designation, Kyrgyz Justice Ministry registration data showed that OJSC Virtual Asset Issuer was re-registered as OJSC EVA, according to Akchabar. No official explanation has publicly linked the name change to the UK action.
The sanctions quickly affected one of USDKG’s trading routes. OSL HK had listed USDKG for professional investors on May 21, offering a USDKG/USDT OTC pair. OSL’s announcement archive subsequently recorded a May 27 notice that all USDKG services would stop, only days after the listing and one day after the UK designation.
Crypto.news covered the original USDKG listing on Hong Kong-licensed OSL HK when trading began in May.
USDKG still trades near $1 as the project closes
USDKG has not shown a large break from its dollar peg in available market data. At the time of checking, CoinGecko showed USDKG trading at approximately $1.00, with a 24-hour range of roughly $0.9998 to $1.00.
CoinGecko listed 50 million USDKG in circulating supply, giving the token a market capitalization close to $50.03 million. Twenty-four-hour trading volume stood at approximately $22,955, with trading shown on Uniswap V3 and Curve on Ethereum.
The official project’s previously published contract information identifies the Tron address as TXZo12qvnEVKvU2zbfuQeMXKusWyxonwEG and its Ethereum contract as 0xE820C06321E60d36257C666643Fa5436643445E3. USDKG documentation said minting and burning were controlled by the issuer through its smart-contract structure.
Etherscan previously displayed a verified USDKG contract with functions allowing the issuer to mint, redeem, pause transfers and blacklist addresses. The available market data does not show how many of the 50 million circulating tokens will ultimately be submitted for redemption during the liquidation.
Coin Nomad liquidation was already underway
Coin Nomad Exchange had entered liquidation before the USDKG shutdown became public. Akchabar reported on Sept. 14 that the exchange’s sole shareholder had approved voluntary liquidation on Sept. 3. The Ministry of Finance was the company’s sole shareholder.
The exchange was registered in December 2024 as Kyrgyzstan’s first state-owned cryptocurrency exchange. Akchabar reported that Coin Nomad recorded a net profit of 1.47 million Kyrgyz soms during the first half of 2026, although its operating business produced a loss and the company had fallen behind on some tax and statutory payments.
Kyrgyzstan’s decision comes while Western authorities continue to scrutinize separate crypto networks operating through the region. As crypto.news previously reported in its coverage of Russia-linked crypto activity in Kyrgyzstan, blockchain intelligence researchers had examined exchanges and A7A5-related infrastructure registered in the country.
The U.S. Treasury took a separate action on Oct. 1 against the A7 Network. Treasury said OFAC designated A7 as a transnational criminal organization and described it as a Russia-linked shadow banking network used by Iran to evade sanctions. The U.S. action names the A7 Network, not USDKG or EVA.
For USDKG holders, the project’s official notice currently directs redemption requests to its email address but gives no final redemption date. Coin Nomad’s separate liquidation notice said creditor claims would be accepted for one month from its Sept. 14 publication, putting that claims window around Oct. 14, 2026.
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