According to a notice from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belarus is looking to make peer-to-peer transactions in cryptocurrency illegal. Citizens will now be required to use registered crypto exchanges to minimize fraud in the space.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 20 Belarusian entities engaged in illegal activity to obtain over $8.7 million in crypto this year alone.
“The MFA is working on legislative innovations prohibiting crypto exchange transactions between individuals. For transparency and control, citizens can conduct such financial transactions only through the [regulatory sandbox for crypto known as the Hi-Tech Park] exchanges,” the Ministry posted on Telegram.
“Under such conditions, it will simply become unprofitable for information technology fraudsters to operate in Belarus,” the Ministry added.
In 2021, the Belarusian president asked citizens to mine crypto instead of going overseas for work: “Build something based on electricity. After all, start mining cryptocurrencies or whatever it’s called. There is enough electricity in the country,” President Alexander Lukashenko said.
