Belarus creates legal framework for ‘cryptobanks’ in new presidential decree

The rules allow banks to combine token activity with payments and financial services under central bank and tech park oversight.

Belarus has introduced a legal framework for so-called “cryptobanks,” formally integrating digital asset activity into the country’s regulated banking system under direct state oversight.

On Friday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19, defining how crypto banks may operate and what conditions they must meet to enter the market. 

The decree positions cryptobanks as joint-stock companies authorized to combine token-based operations with traditional banking, payments and related financial services. Rather than creating a parallel sector for crypto, the framework ties digital asset activity to existing financial oversight mechanisms and infrastructure. 

Read more