Belarus: High Tech Park Releases ‘Complete Legal Regulations’ for Cryptocurrencies

Belarus High-Technologies Park (HTP), a national special economic zone contributing to the IT business, has established the rules for the operation of the cryptocurrency market in the country, according to documents published by HTP Nov. 30.

The regulatory documents define the requirements for various types of businesses related to cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), as the general rules for industry regulations — Decree No. 8 “On the Development of the Digital Economy” — had already been signed last year.

The HTP, commonly known as the Belarusian Silicon Valley, was responsible for establishing the rules under which the cryptocurrency industry would be regulated in the country. Today, the HTP has published five documents: “Requirements for Applicants,” “Requirements for Cryptoplatform Operators,” “Requirements for Cryptocurrency Exchange Office Operators,” “Requirements for ICO Operators,” and “Requirements for Internal Control Rules.”

Now that these rules have been accepted, they form “a complete legal regulation of cryptocurrency in Belarus,” local Belarusian news outlet Dev.by reports. It also states:

“The cryptocurrency activities of the HTP residents received full comprehensive legislative support from the regulator. The HTP administration, together with the National Bank, the Financial Monitoring Department of the State Control Committee, international experts and other bodies, compiled and signed all the necessary documents.”

Back in the spring, the Belarus government called the digitalization of the national economy “a top priority,” because of its ability to transform “the economy, public administration and social services,” as Cointelegraph reported May 16.

Previously this fall, the deputy foreign minister of Belarus stated that Belarus aimed to establish relations with South Korean investors interested in the so-dubbed “fourth industrial revolution” technologies, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, Cointelegraph wrote Sep. 6.