• Belarus is working on legislation to ban peer-to-peer crypto transactions in order to reduce fraud.
• The Ministry of Internal Affairs has identified 27 people who provide illegal exchange services.
• Citizens will be allowed to conduct crypto transactions only through exchanges based in the Belarus Hi-Tech Park.
Belarus Looks to Ban Peer-to-Peer Crypto Transactions
The east European country is working on legislation to make it harder for fraudsters to get their hands on the proceeds of crime. By Camomile Shumba Jul 3, 2023 at 3:14 p.m. UTC
Reason Behind the Legislation
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said it had identified 27 people who provide illegal crypto exchange services, which are used by fraudsters to get their hands on the proceeds of their activities. In order to prevent this, citizens of the east European country will be allowed to conduct crypto transactions only through exchanges based in the Belarus Hi-Tech Park (HTP) “for sake of transparency and control.”
Effects of the Legislation
The ministry believes that such as procedure will make it impossible for IT fraudsters to operate in Belarus due its transparency and control features. This would also make it unprofitable for them as they wouldn’t be able withdraw money obtained through criminal means anymore.
Response From Crypto Community
CoinDesk called the Belarus Ministry of Internal Affairs but did not get a response.
Conclusion
This new regulation could have significant effects on how cryptocurrencies are exchanged in Belarus and could potentially put an end to fraudulent activities using cryptocurrencies in that region.