The crypto industry is heading into the mountains – quite literally!

Sometimes the cryptocurrency market surprises not with charts, but with geography. This weekend, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was not at a conference in Dubai and not in an office surrounded by regulators, but on a completely different kind of “market” – a ski resort. And not just with anyone, but in the company of Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov.

The head of state posted a tweet in which he called CZ his advisor and friend, and said that he personally decided to show him the beauty of the Karakol ski resort – its unique nature, tourism potential, and the opportunities of the region.

And it sounds less like a случайный walk and more like diplomacy of a new generation: instead of negotiating tables – ski slopes, instead of protocol photos – joint descents from the mountains.

Karakol as a showcase of future tourism

The president noted that the time passed “in one breath”: skiing down the slopes, climbing to the highest points of the resort, and panoramic views of the mountains that could easily compete with the Alps.

Karakol is one of Kyrgyzstan’s main ski centers, located near Issyk-Kul. This place has long been seen as a potential tourist jewel of Central Asia, but now the authorities clearly want to turn it into an international brand.

Japarov emphasized that the development of ski clusters could make the Issyk-Kul region a major global tourism hub.

So this is not just about a resort, but about a strategy: infrastructure, investment, regional growth, and an attempt to integrate into the global tourism market.

CZ praised the service – and hinted at a European level

Changpeng Zhao, in turn, highly appreciated the level of service and stressed that the region has the potential to compete with European resorts.

This is an important formulation. When the founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange publicly speaks about a region’s competitiveness, it is no longer just a compliment to the hosts – it is a signal to the outside market.

Kyrgyzstan is clearly trying to present itself not only as a mountainous country, but also as a platform opening up to international partners – from tourism to infrastructure and possibly digital finance.

Tea instead of a press conference

The meeting ended with an informal tea gathering, during which the prospects of infrastructure projects were discussed.

And this is where the most interesting part begins. Such phrases always sound мягко and vague, but usually mean one thing: the conversation was not only about skiing. Infrastructure projects mean investment, regional development, international partnerships, and вполне возможно, the involvement of major private players.

And CZ today is no longer just “a person from Binance”, but a figure who increasingly appears in political and state contexts, especially in countries that want to integrate into the digital economy faster than traditional banks can arrive.

Crypto is changing its style of presence in the world

This story looks symbolic. Not long ago, crypto leaders were associated either with hype, or with court cases, or with endless tweets about “to the moon”. And now the founder of Binance is spending the weekend with the president of Kyrgyzstan, discussing the tourism potential of the region and infrastructure.

The crypto industry is maturing – and more and more often it meets not in traders’ chats, but at the state level.

Welcome, CZ

The president ended his message simply: Welcome, CZ! And it seems this invitation sounds broader than just a tourist visit.

Kyrgyzstan is showing the world its mountains, and the crypto world is showing that now it can come not only for markets, but also for real projects. It seems the next stage of crypto is not only blockchain, but also ski clusters.