Belarus Looks to Ban P2P Crypto Trading
Belarus is set to ban peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto “exchanges” – in a blow to traders operating in the country.
In a Telegram post from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, government officials said they were “preparing proposals for legislation” that would “prohibit the exchange of cryptocurrency between individuals in Belarus.”
The ministry said that it wants to “legally prohibit transactions for the exchange of cryptocurrencies.”
Instead, it wants to force citizens to “conduct transactions only through the exchanges in Minsk’s High-Tech Park.”
The park was launched half a decade ago, and was masterminded by the central government in a bid to turn Minsk into a regional crypto hub. The ministry said it wanted elements of “transparency and control” to be present in crypto transactions conducted in the country.
Alexander Ringevich, the Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs at the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, said:
“Using a similar system to that which we use for exchanging foreign currencies will make it impossible to withdraw money obtained by criminal means using crypto.”
