Belarus Plans Ban on P2P Crypto Transactions to Combat Money Laundering
Belarus Crypto
Summary: Belarus is preparing to implement a limited crypto prohibition, citing criminals exploiting P2P crypto services to launder money. The ministry plans to limit P2P cryptocurrency services to only allow transactions via registered exchanges, making it impossible to withdraw money obtained by criminal means.
Belarus is preparing to implement a limited crypto prohibition. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Sunday, criminals have been exploiting P2P crypto services to launder money. The statement also said that the organization was working on laws to ban the “exchange of cryptocurrency between individuals.”
Cybercrime counteraction teams have “stopped the activities of 27 citizens who provide illegal cryptocurrency exchange services” since the beginning of the year, according to the statement. Their combined illegal earnings approached $8.7 million.
Transactions Only Allowed Thru Exchanges
It went on to state that the ministry will attempt to limit peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency services so that “only crypto transactions via registered exchanges” would be permitted, therefore making it “impossible to withdraw money obtained by criminal means.”
When two people use a P2P service, they communicate with one another directly, without going through any intermediaries.
Crypto-friendly Nation in General
In general, Belarus has been rather crypto-friendly. It was one of the top 10 crypto tax-friendly nations earlier this year, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode, and the government legalized digital asset transactions only this year. In 2020, a government-owned bank in Belarus called Belarusbank opened a cryptocurrency exchange where citizens of Belarus and Russia could use Visa credit cards to purchase Bitcoin.
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The new rule exempts both people and corporations involved in cryptocurrency transactions from paying taxes. The goal was to aid the IT sector and encourage the growth of a digital economy. This year is the time for a revision of the legislation.
