Belarus establishes state-regulated cryptobanks under Decree No. 19

Belarus has introduced a legal framework for so-called "cryptobanks," integrating digital asset activity into the country’s regulated banking system after President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19 defining how such banks may operate and what conditions they must meet to enter the market.

Under the decree, cryptobanks are defined as joint-stock companies authorized to combine token-based operations with traditional banking, payments and related financial services, and the framework ties digital-asset activity to existing financial oversight rather than creating a parallel sector.

Cryptobanks must obtain resident status in the country’s Hi‑Tech Park and be entered into a dedicated register maintained by the central bank. The decree also subjects cryptobanks to dual oversight: they are required to comply with rules applied to non-bank credit and financial institutions and to implement decisions issued by the Hi‑Tech Park’s supervisory board.

The government said this layered approach will let cryptobanks offer products that blend conventional banking services with efficiencies from token-based transactions and will limit participation to firms willing to operate within Belarus’s regulatory parameters. The measure follows earlier policy moves: on Sept.

Key Topics

Crypto, Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, Hi-tech Park, Cryptobank, Central Bank Register