Belarus might have first crypto bank by summer - central bank head
MINSK. March 2 (Interfax) - A number of foreign financial institutions are interested in setting up crypto banks in Belarus and their applications might be approved by this summer, National Bank of Belarus (NBB) governor Roman Golovchenko said in parliament on Friday.
"The National Bank and government are currently regulating issues regarding the creation and operation of crypto banks. A number of major financial institutions, both domestic and foreign, are already showing interest in this decree, which is fairly advanced even by international standards," Golovchenko was reported as saying by state news agency BelTA.
The "first applications from investors and market participants will already be processed by the summer of this year," he said.
The government's decision at the start of the year on the creation of crypto banks in the country "provides a unique opportunity for the introduction of hybrid financial institutions that combine traditional banking operations and operations with tokens," Golovchenko said.
The advantages of crypto banks include the provision of a single balance to companies that combine a bank account and crypto exchange account, he said.
"Secondly, the reduction of blocking risks, since crypto banks will be under the control of the National Bank and transactions in them will become comprehensible for regulatory bodies. Thirdly, the range of options for individuals expands - loans secured by cryptocurrencies, crypto deposits, crypto cards with the possibility of paying for goods and services and even receiving wages in cryptocurrency," Golovchenko said.
President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree in mid-January "On crypto banks and certain issues of control in the area of digital tokens."
The NBB said crypto banks will make it possible to combine the role of a traditional bank and that of a crypto exchange, along with additional functions for work with cryptocurrencies. Such banks will have a dual license, from the NBB and from the supervisory board of the High Technology Park, a special legal regime territory in Belarus where operations with digital assets are permitted. In terms of control, crypto banks will answer to the NBB.
The decree allows for the possibility of attracting foreign investment for the creation of crypto banks.
Last September, Lukashenko supported an NBB initiative to create crypto banks in the country and called for expanding the scope of cryptocurrency use. He also said then that foreign payments through Belarusian crypto exchanges could total $3 billion in 2025.
In November, Lukashenko supported cryptocurrency mining in Belarus and said tokens could become an alternative to the U.S. dollar, while their mining in the country would make it possible to boost energy demand.
"The whole world currently has a global problem - to move away from dependence on one currency, the dollar. And this process will grow. And cryptocurrency is probably one of the options for moving away," Lukashenko said at the time.
He said the new legal regulation should enable honest companies from Belarus and foreign investors to "continue to work in peace in our digital haven."
