BISHKEK (Reuters) -Kyrgyzstan has launched a national stablecoin and a central bank digital currency in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Binance, President Sadyr Japarov said on Saturday.

A mountainous former Soviet republic of around 7 million people traditionally dependent on labour migrants in Russia, Kyrgyzstan has in recent years positioned itself as a cryptocurrency leader in Central Asia.

A5A7, a stablecoin backed by the Russian rouble and based in Kyrgyzstan, has been placed under sanctions by Western governments who say it is used to facilitate avoidance of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was appointed as an adviser on digital assets to the president of Kyrgyzstan in May.

Zhao said in a post o

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