ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan(AP) — Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most isolated nations, officially legalized mining and exchanging cryptocurrency on Thursday in a major shift for the country’s tightly controlled, gas-dependent economy.

Signed by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the legislation regulating virtual assets brings cryptocurrencies under civil law and establishes a licensing scheme for cryptocurrency exchanges overseen by the country’s central bank.