Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has reportedly pushed the country’s banks to expand how they use crypto, admitting that sanctions have greatly impacted the economy.
Lukashenko told the heads of Belarus’ central and commercial banks in a meeting that the use of digital tokens needs to be expanded, the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency reported on Tuesday.
“Over the past five years, the national economy, and with it the Belarusian banking sector, have faced unprecedented challenges,” Lukashenko said. “The government and the National Bank have been given corresponding instructions. Now, act.”
Lukashenko’s latest push comes days after he told lawmakers to create transparent rules for the country’s cryptocurrency market on Friday, as the country’s economy has declined due to shrinking exports under broad EU and US sanctions for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Due to their anonymous and decentralized nature, cryptocurrencies have been used among other methods to help countries, most notably Russia and North Korea, evade sanctions and conduct trade.
Payments via Belarusian crypto exchanges could top $3 billion
The total number of crypto users in Belarus is expected to surpass more than 855,000 people by 2026, out of a population of 9.1 million, while user penetration is projected to increase to 9.57% according to online data platform Statista.
Lukashenko claims all the exchanges operating in the country, such as Binance, OKX and KuCoin, are on track to possibly double in external payments by the end of the year.
“Today, cryptocurrency-based transactions are more active than ever, and their role in facilitating payments is growing,” he said.
“In the seven months of this year, the volume of external payments through cryptocurrency exchanges amounted to $1.7 billion. According to expert estimates, it may reach $3 billion by the end of the year.”
In September last year, Lukashenko signed a law banning individuals from buying and selling crypto outside of Belarusian exchanges.
Another push for digital payment systems
Lukashenko also told the banking leaders to increase the adoption of digital payment systems, after making a “start with QR codes,” and to launch an instant payment system by the end of the year.
VTB Bank Belarus, a Russian majority state-owned bank, started offering its customers payment options using QR codes connected directly to the online payment system ERIP.
Lukashenko said the country’s digital strategy must prioritize adopting biometric technologies, establish a dedicated IT company to reduce reliance on external service providers and integrate artificial intelligence-based solutions.
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“Banks must try to make the most of modern technology. Digitalization is not an end in itself; it must deliver tangible economic results,” he added.
Belarus crypto attitude
Belarus’s attitude toward crypto has been somewhat mixed in the past. In March, Lukashenko instructed his energy minister to begin developing the country’s cryptocurrency mining industry because the country had an excess of electricity.
In the summer of 2023, the Belarusian Ministry was working on banning peer-to-peer transactions in crypto, such as Bitcoin (BTC).
However, the country also legalized crypto transactions in 2018 and allowed selling, exchanging, and mining.
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