The president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, urged regulators to finish the delayed rules for cryptocurrencies and digital tokens, according to the comments reported by the State News Agency Belta on September 5.
Belta summoned Lukashenko saying that his 2023 instructions to create a comprehensive regulation had not yet produced approved documents. He asked for “transparent rules of the game” and new supervision mechanisms, arguing that Belarus needs to keep up with the global cryptography adoption while safeguarding investors and financial stability.
Citing a report from the State Control Committee, Lukashenko said that an inspection of cryptographic platforms revealed violations in transaction records. He added, according to Belta, that in approximately half of the cases the funds transferred abroad by Belarusian investors did not return, a situation that described as unacceptable.
Although the report did not give details, this was probably referring to situations in which investors used foreign cryptographic platforms and could not withdraw their money from Belarus, either due to regulatory gaps, platform failures or capital outputs that were never repatrified.
The president also pointed out that technology is moving faster than legislation, creating pressure for the new branches of law. He instructed the regulators and the Hi-Tech Park, the special economic zone that supervises much of the digital economy of Belarus, to divide responsibilities and use their experience to write rules that would reassure companies at home and abroad that could “work calmly in our digital refuge.”
Lukashenko’s latest comments are produced only a few months after publicly considering another way to expand the role of Belarus in Crypto.
On March 5, Coindesk reported that he raised the possibility of taking advantage of the country’s excess electricity for digital asset mining. “Look at this mining. More and more people are turning to me. If it is profitable for us, let’s do it,” he told his newly appointed energy minister, according to Belta at that time.
At that time, Lukashenko linked the idea with the developments in Washington, noting that the White House had floated the concept of a strategic cryptography reserve. “You see the path that goes in the world. And especially the world’s biggest economy. Yesterday they announced that they will maintain [a crypto] Reserve, ”he said.
Belarus wouldn’t be just to explore that path.
Bután has silently built more than 100 megawatts of Bitcoin mining capacity, with additional 500MW plans. El Salvador, which Bitcoin adopted as a legal tender, has promoted mining with geothermal energy on a smaller scale. Lukashenko’s comments suggested that Belarus, with their surplus of power, could follow a similar route if regulators give green light.
Belarus was an early engine in space.
Decree No. 8 “on the development of the digital economy”, signed on December 21, 2017, established a framework for digital assets under the high -tech umbrella, which drew new foreign blockchain companies.
High -tech park (HTP) It is a special economic zone in Belarus that offers fiscal and legal conditions favorable to IT companies. The December 21 decree extended this preferential regime until January 1, 2049 and extended the list of activities allowed for HTP residents.
Together with software development, residents were granted the right to operate in new fields, such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicle systems and electronic sports. The decree also reaffirmed the principle of extraterritoriality, allowing companies registered in HTP to provide digital services to customers around the world, regardless of their physical location.
In addition, the decree introduced specific provisions for blockchain and digital assets.
Formally recognized digital tokens in the Belarusa Law and created a legal basis for its issuance, circulation and exchange, which had not regulated before. Activities such as cryptographic mining and tokens sales were legalized when HTP residents performed.
In addition, the decree offered tax exemptions on digital assets transactions for both companies and people operating within HTP, and recognized the validity of intelligent contracts. These measures positioned Belarus as one of the first jurisdictions to adopt a framework backed by the State for cryptocurrencies and blockchain services.
However, the system remains incomplete, and Lukashenko’s last intervention, informed by Belta, suggests a growing impatience to align the regulatory ambitions of the country with its technological aspirations.
