Nasdaq-listed crypto treasury agency Solana Firm signed an settlement to help the event of Alatau Metropolis, Kazakhstan’s deliberate digital-first megacity.
The corporate signed a memorandum of understanding to advise and assist construct Alatau Metropolis’s blockchain and crypto infrastructure through the Alatau Metropolis Roadshow in Shenzhen and Hong Kong in June, which reportedly secured 30 cooperation agreements with a mixed funding potential of over $6 billion.
“We stay up for deepening this partnership and increasing the Solana ecosystem’s footprint throughout the area,” mentioned Solana Firm chair and CEO Joseph Chee.
The deal additional pushes Kazakhstan into Solana’s nook. Final yr, Kazakhstan launched Central Asia’s first Solana Financial Zone within the nation’s capital of Astana with the Solana Basis.
The Kazakhstan Inventory Alternate (KASE) launched its first Solana ETF final week, giving buyers regulated publicity to Solana (SOL) via one of many largest inventory exchanges in Central Asia.
The Solana Basis additionally signed a memorandum of understanding with Alatau Metropolis to develop its blockchain capabilities through the China roadshow.
Solana Co.’s work in Alatau Metropolis
The collaboration between Solana Firm and Alatau Metropolis will cowl 4 areas: digital asset treasury, blockchain infrastructure, accelerating the institutional adoption of blockchain and platform growth.
Alisher Abdykadyrov, CEO of the Alatau Metropolis Authority, mentioned the MOU may also see Solana Firm take part within the growth of the Alatau Crypto Cluster, a devoted pilot zone and particular financial space within the upcoming metropolis the place crypto will likely be permitted for on a regular basis transactions.
Alatau Metropolis’s formidable plans for megacity
The Alatau Metropolis megaproject was first unveiled to a world viewers by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Might 2024. Town continues to be primarily in early growth and planning levels.
The village of Zhetygen, pictured in March 2023, earlier than it was designated a metropolis and renamed to Alatau. Supply: Wikimedia Commons
Planners envision it as a completely built-in good metropolis with low-altitude plane, robotaxis and autonomous drones dealing with city transportation and deliveries, with hydrogen vitality powering its financial system.
Throughout the Solana Summit Kazakhstan 2026, Arman Tastanbekov, deputy CEO of the Alatau Metropolis Authority, mentioned that Alatau Metropolis can be constructed with synthetic intelligence, digital id and blockchain know-how from the start.
It hasn’t come with out its challengers, nonetheless, with Kazakhstan’s Nationwide Financial institution and Monetary Monitoring Company reportedly expressing considerations concerning the constitutional modifications required to help a crypto-based financial system, The Diplomat reported in March.
Different unbiased information studies counsel that the present residents of Alatau Metropolis are nonetheless coping with a scarcity of gasoline, water, electrical energy and web connectivity, suggesting the futuristic metropolis continues to be removed from actuality.
Cointelegraph reached out to Alatau Metropolis for remark.
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