Belarus Legalizes ‘Crypto Banks’ via Decree 19; State Tightens Grip on Digital Finance

The Lede

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19 on Friday, formally establishing a legal class of “crypto banks” authorized to merge digital asset operations with traditional fiat banking. The move, reported by state-run agency Belarus Segodnya, creates a state-sanctioned tunnel for crypto liquidity, mandating that all such entities operate under a rigid dual-licensing regime controlled by the National Bank and the High-Tech Park (HTP).

The Mechanics

The decree defines a crypto bank strictly as a Joint-Stock Company (JSC) that holds residency in the HTP. This is not a permissionless license; applicants must secure inclusion in a specific National Bank registry before facilitating payments or trading tokens.

Operators face a bureaucratic pincer movement: they must satisfy the National Bank’s capital adequacy and risk standards (similar to traditional non-bank credit institutions) while simultaneously adhering to the HTP Supervisory Board’s operational mandates.

“Dual regulation will allow a crypto bank to offer clients innovative financial products that combine the advantages of traditional banking operations with the technological efficiency… of digital token transactions.”

Institutional Context

This legislation completes a regulatory pivot Belarus began in late 2024. After blocking access to offshore exchanges and restricting citizens to domestic platforms, the state is now verticalizing the industry. By forcing crypto flows through HTP-resident banks, Minsk centralizes oversight, effectively nationalizing the on-ramps and off-ramps.

For a nation under heavy Western sanctions, this infrastructure offers a potential mechanism to facilitate cross-border settlements outside the SWIFT network, leveraging digital assets as a compliant bridge currency within a closed loop.