Belarus News

South Africa’s financial regulator has announced that all crypto exchanges in the country must obtain licenses by the end of 2023.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus cited a high crypto crime rate for banning all citizens from exchanging Bitcoin with each other.

Chairman of the Belarusian national bank Pavel Kallaur said a decision on a CBDC would be made “at the level of head of state” after consultations.

Belarusian hackers claim to have gained access to the passport info of every Belarusian citizen, including president Alexander Lukashenko, allowing them to mint an NFT with his passport details.

Russia-linked crypto exchange Exmo will no longer provide services to users from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

“In these circumstances we can no longer continue to serve our clients from Russia,” said Vitalii Kedyk, CEO of Currency.com’s Ukraine arm.

The expansion of sanctions follows the commission announcing in February that it would be removing several Russian banks from the SWIFT cross-border payment network.

"Visa and Mastercard dig their own graves by politicizing their products and pushing people all over the world toward Bitcoin," said Marty Bent.

As some platforms freeze accounts linked to Russia and Belarus, Binance said it will not block innocent Russians’ crypto assets.

The decree provides a legal basis for Belarus Hi-Tech Park to set up a register of crypto wallets used in illegal activities.

Belarus has lots of abandoned industrial sites that could be used to generate revenue through cryptocurrency mining, the Belarusian president said.

The Eurasian Economic Union’s member states did not support an initiative to synchronize crypto regulations.

The administration of Belarus Hi-Tech Park is the best authority to regulate the crypto market in the country, First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov said.

The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Belarus has launched an investigation into the potential pros and cons of crypto mining.

Another bank is reportedly moving into crypto amid a major bull run in crypto markets.