Belarus has introduced a legal framework for "cryptobanks," formally integrating digital asset activity into the country’s regulated banking system under direct state oversight.
On Friday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19, defining how crypto banks may operate and what conditions they must meet to enter the market.
The decree positions cryptobanks as joint-stock companies authorized to combine token-based operations with traditional banking, payments, and related financial services. Rather than creating a parallel sector for crypto, the framework ties digital asset activity to existing financial oversight mechanisms and infrastructure.
Under the rules, cryptobanks must obtain resident status in the country’s Hi-Tech Park, a state-backed technology zone. In addition, cryptobanks must be entered into a dedicated register maintained by the country’s central bank.
🇧🇾 JUST IN: Belarus has signed a decree giving crypto banks legal status. pic.twitter.com/IolJNNCTJr
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 16, 2026
Cryptobanks to Operate Under Dual Oversight
According to the decree, cryptobanks are required to comply with rules applied to non-bank credit and financial institutions. They must also implement decisions issued by the Hi-Tech Park’s supervisory board.
This layered approach subjects crypto-related banking activity to both financial and technological oversight.
According to the government, this dual regulation approach will allow cryptobanks to offer innovative products that blend conventional banking services with efficiencies contributed by token-based transactions.
In practice, this allows for the delivery of crypto services through licensed entities already embedded in the financial system. The framework narrows participation to firms willing to operate within the country’s regulatory parameters.
The president’s office stated that the decree is intended to strengthen Belarus’s image as a financial IT hub.
At the same time, the framework reinforces a long-running policy approach that permits crypto only within clearly defined, state-approved channels.
Belarus’s Controlled Crypto Strategy
The cryptobank decree builds upon years of incremental policy signals. On September 5, 2025, Lukashenko publicly instructed lawmakers to create "clear and transparent rules" for the crypto market. The president emphasized the need for state control mechanisms alongside innovation.
This message was reinforced just days later, when the president urged local banks to expand their use of crypto-based payments.
On September 10, Lukashenko cited economic pressure from international sanctions and the growing use of digital tokens in cross-border transactions as reasons for the urgent need for banks to engage with crypto.
Concurrently, Belarus has steadily worked to eliminate unregulated crypto activity within the country.
On December 12, authorities blocked access to several major offshore crypto exchanges, citing advertising violations and signaling a broader crackdown on the digital asset "gray market."