The development of cryptoindustry in Belarus after the legalization of cryptocurrency, mining and ICO

Eight months after President Lukashenko’s decree No. 8 came into force , the number of companies registered in the Belarusian High-Tech Park increased to 388. Almost half of them became residents of the special economic zone this year.

“The decree on the development of the digital economy” was signed by the Belarusian leader in December 2017. One of the main goals of the decree was to facilitate the entry of foreign high-tech businesses in the former Soviet republic.

In addition, Minsk intends to attract promising projects in the cryptocurrency sphere. The document legalized the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges, ICO and mining for structures registered in the HTP. Now most of the companies operating in the Park belong to the traditional sectors of high-tech – IT and software. They work with clients from 67 countries – often through outsourcing.

Cryptocurrency companies in the Park form a relatively small but diverse group. For example, Aetsoft is a blockchain company serving ICO projects and decentralized exchanges since 2014. She works with clients in many markets, including the United States, Germany and Denmark. Startup Biggico is a joint project of Belarusian and Latvian entrepreneurs. His international team has created an advertising platform for cryptocurrency projects.

Far Eastern Technologies and Kbl Group are developing equipment for mining, and Pm Pool provides cloud mining services to users in the CIS and Baltic countries. Another mining company is Smartpool. Aiscom proposes cryptocurrency payment solutions to exchanges, purse providers and ICO projects. Omertex develops high-tech solutions for the fintech industry.

Industry experts note that now among the residents of the HTP there are no businesses selling digital assets. However, recently the company, founded by immigrants from Belarus in the USA, launched, as reported by the project advertising, “the first Belarusian cryptocurrency exchange”. The head office of this platform called Crexby is located in New York, and not in Minsk.

The lack of cryptocurrency exchanges in Belarus has several reasons. In an article recently published by Belmarket, Artem Khandriko of the law firm Revera wrote that one of them was a lack of legal support. In addition, the country's central bank is extremely negative about cryptocurrencies, and commercial banks do not want to deal with digital asset transactions.

Earlier this year, local media quoted financial experts who doubted that representatives of the cryptocurrency sector and ordinary Belarusians could benefit from the presidential decree on the digital economy. Experts believe that the implementation of this decree without the adoption of additional comprehensive laws will simply turn Belarus into a “crypto-offshore”.