The president announced plans for new regulations designed to protect legitimate businesses and bona fide foreign investors and to uphold the country’s status as a secure «digital haven».

Following an unscheduled inspection, the State Control Committee reported that crypto platform operators require further regulatory fine-tuning, having discovered violations in financial transaction registrations. Addressing these concerns, Aleksandr Lukashenko posed a logical question: «Why were these processes violated? What was the reason?» He further emphasized that funds transferred abroad by Belarusian investors are not returned in half of all cases, which is unacceptable.

The president emphasized that the legal framework for cryptocurrency must prioritize protecting both state and citizen interests. To prevent Belarusians from being defrauded, Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that organizations handling cryptocurrencies must be strictly controlled. The entity responsible for this domain is the management of the cryptocurrency exchange created within the Hi Tech Park.

The president issued a stark warning, stating that negligent officials should face prison, not a presidential meeting. «Then everything will be fine,» he said. He revealed being overwhelmed by contradictory reports, describing some documents as alarmist and fear-mongering. «They say ‘If we do not make a decision today, tomorrow we will collapse. No potatoes, no grain, nothing will be left’,» he said.

Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov provided a concrete example of investor harm, referencing a criminal case initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to Vasily Gerasimov, a company established by Kazakhstani citizens executed 16 token issues but defaulted on payments for 12 of them, diverting those funds overseas. These actions resulted in financial damages for approximately 1,600 Belarusians.

Photo: BelTA