The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on legislation to make peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin illegal.
On July 2, the ministry released an official notification on Telegram regarding new regulations that would prohibit anyone from using P2P crypto exchange.
Belarus has a high cybercrime rate, according to the administration, and local prosecutors have suppressed the operation of 27 citizens providing “illegal crypto exchange services” since January 2023.
Their unlawful earnings were roughly 22 million Belarusian rubles ($8.7 million).
To combat such illegal behaviour, the ministry will restrict individuals from engaging in P2P transactions and will only allow them to swap cryptocurrency through exchanges registered with Belarus Hi-Tech Park (HTP).