Russia’s supporter Belarus will ban crypto payment transactions

Belarus decided to bring a new measure to ban the use of cryptocurrencies in payment services.

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. This country is one of the biggest supporters of Russia, as it is deeply connected with the Russian economy & politics. In Q1 2022, Belarus supported Russia in the invasions against the Ukrainian military. 

According to local media reports, the Belarus government decided to bring a set of new measures to prohibit every kind of possible crypto transaction associated with payment services. 

In short, new measures will ban the use of crypto used as a legal tender or we can say Belarus’s citizens will be only allowed to trade & invest in cryptocurrencies only. 

The report confirmed that all citizens will be allowed to invest in cryptocurrencies via a specially recognized crypto exchange only so that the corresponding enforcement agencies can easily trace bad actors & suspicious activities with more transparency.

Russia vs Ukraine & Crypto 

Belarus’s supporter & friend country Russia was a very big hater of cryptocurrencies but due to Western countries’s financial & trade sanctions, as a part of Russia vs Ukraine conflict, pressurised Russia to adopt cryptocurrencies & based payment services to bypass the financial sanctions easily.

In late 2021, the Russian Central Bank, the Bank of Russia, was planning to ban cryptocurrencies but the Russia vs Ukraine conflict changed the whole game. Even in the present time, the Bank of Russia is not in favour of cryptocurrencies but still agrees to support & contribute to crypto regulation in the country.

In the present time, cryptocurrency transactions for goods & services are fully restricted. But still, the government is failing to control individuals from using crypto as a legal tender. 

Read also: Crypto proponents suggest the Hong Kong govt to issue Stablecoin