Belarus Introduces State-Regulated Cryptobanks

Belarus has launched a authorized framework for so-called “cryptobanks,” formally integrating digital asset exercise into the nation’s regulated banking system beneath direct state oversight.

On Friday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19, defining how crypto banks might function and what circumstances they have to meet to enter the market. 

The decree positions cryptobanks as joint-stock firms approved to mix token-based operations with conventional banking, funds and associated monetary companies. Quite than making a parallel sector for crypto, the framework ties digital asset exercise to current monetary oversight mechanisms and infrastructure. 

Below the principles, cryptobanks should get hold of resident standing within the nation’s Hello-Tech Park, a state-backed know-how zone. As well as, cryptobanks should be entered right into a devoted register maintained by the nation’s central financial institution. 

🇧🇾 JUST IN: Belarus has signed a decree giving crypto banks authorized standing. pic.twitter.com/IolJNNCTJr

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 16, 2026

Cryptobanks to function beneath twin oversight 

In response to the decree, cryptobanks are required to adjust to guidelines utilized to non-bank credit score and monetary establishments. They need to additionally implement choices issued by the Hello-Tech Park’s supervisory board. 

The layered strategy topics crypto-related banking exercise to each monetary and technological oversight.

In response to the federal government, this twin regulation strategy will let cryptobanks supply progressive merchandise that mix standard banking companies with efficiencies contributed by token-based transactions. 

In follow, this enables supply of crypto companies via licensed entities already embedded within the monetary system. The framework narrows participation to corporations keen to function inside the nation’s regulatory parameters.

The president’s workplace mentioned the decree is meant to strengthen Belarus’s picture as a monetary IT hub. 

On the identical time, the framework reinforces a long-running coverage strategy that allows crypto solely inside clearly outlined, state-approved channels. 

Associated: ‘We’ve got extra electrical energy’: Belarus president orders growth of crypto mining

Belarus’s managed crypto technique

The cryptobank decree builds on years of incremental coverage alerts. On Sept. 5, 2025, Lukashenko publicly instructed lawmakers to create “clear and clear guidelines” for the crypto market. The president emphasised the necessity for state management mechanisms together with innovation. 

The message was strengthened simply days later, when the president urged native banks to develop their use of crypto-based funds. 

On Sept. 10, Lukashenko cited financial strain from worldwide sanctions and the rising use of digital tokens in cross-border transactions as a few of the explanation why there was an pressing want for banks to get into crypto. 

On the identical time, Belarus steadily moved to remove unregulated crypto exercise inside the nation.

On Dec. 12, authorities blocked entry to a number of main offshore crypto exchanges, citing promoting violations and signaling a broader crackdown on the digital asset “grey market.”