In recent years, the Republic of Belarus has demonstrated an active desire to integrate into the global digital space, paying special attention to developing blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. However, given the potential risks of using cryptocurrencies for illegal purposes, the government is implementing strict regulatory measures. So, on September 17, 2024, Decree No. 367, “On the circulation of Digital signs (tokens)”, was signed, which entered into force on September 20, 2024. This decree prohibits individuals and individual entrepreneurs who are residents of the Hi-Tech Park (HTP) from buying and selling cryptocurrencies outside the Belarusian exchanges and exchangers that are residents of the HTP.
In light of these changes, opening and registering a crypto exchange in Belarus requires careful compliance with established legislation and procedures.
Requirements for Organizations and Individual Entrepreneurs to Operate in the Field of Cryptocurrencies
To carry out activities in the field of cryptocurrencies in the Republic of Belarus, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs must comply with certain requirements established by legal norms. In general, companies that want to become cryptocurrency exchange operators, their owners, founders, beneficiaries, owners and key employees have a number of requirements. You can understand these requirements by consulting with our experienced lawyer. Here are the basic requirements:
1. Resident status of the Hi-Tech Park (HTP)
The main requirement for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who want to operate in cryptocurrencies is to obtain HTP resident status. Only HTP residents have the right to legally conduct activities related to digital signs (tokens), including their creation, placement, acquisition and alienation.
2. Requirements for the authorized capital
The minimum size of the authorized capital is set for operators of crypto platforms and cryptocurrency exchange operators. In particular, the authorized capital of the cryptocurrency exchange operator is at least 2,000,000 Belarusian rubles.
This money should be deposited in Belarusian banks and bank accounts.
3. Qualification requirements for personnel
Managers and employees of organizations that operate in the field of cryptocurrencies must meet certain qualification requirements. For example, for crypto brokers, it is mandatory to have a qualification certificate of a first category securities market specialist for managers and employees who directly conduct transactions or consult clients.
4. Compliance with measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing
Organizations must implement and comply with procedures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. This includes customer identification, monitoring of transactions, and timely notification of suspicious transactions to relevant government authorities.
5. Taxation of activities
Since 2025, taxation of transactions with digital signs (tokens) has been introduced in Belarus. The gross profit from such operations is subject to income tax at the rate of:
- For HTP residents – 9%.
- For other organizations – 20%.
At the same time, income from the placement of its tokens is not recognized as an object of taxation by income tax.
6. Restrictions on operations with tokens
According to Decree No. 367, individuals and individual entrepreneurs must carry out operations to acquire and alienate tokens exclusively through HTP residents engaged in the relevant activity. Transactions with tokens on foreign platforms or directly between individuals without the participation of HTP residents are considered illegal and prohibited.
Complying with these requirements is mandatory for the legitimate conduct of activities in the field of cryptocurrencies in the Republic of Belarus. However, the company may not always understand the many features of the crypto exchange’s activities in Belarus. In this case, we recommend contacting our experienced lawyer, who specializes in cryptocurrencies.
What is a Crypto Exchange
“Cryptoexchange” is a simplified name for a resident company of the Hi-Tech Park, a cryptocurrency exchange operator.
Such operators specialize in exchanging some digital signs (tokens) for others and buying and selling tokens for fiat money. The crypto exchange performs transactions in Belarusian rubles with Belarusian residents.
According to Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 367, dated September 17, 2024, transactions for the acquisition and alienation of cryptocurrencies should be carried out exclusively through Belarusian crypto exchanges and exchangers that are residents of the Hi-Tech Park (HTP). Individuals and individual entrepreneurs are required to use the services of officially registered cryptocurrency exchange operators to conduct relevant operations.
Thus, in Belarus, a crypto exchange is a legally operating platform that provides services for the exchange, purchase, and sale of cryptocurrencies. The state regulates the activities of crypto exchanges and ensures that they are carried out in accordance with established legislative norms.
Requirements for a Crypto Exchange Company and its Employees
In the Republic of Belarus, cryptocurrency exchange companies and their employees must meet certain requirements established by the Hi-Tech Park (HTP) legislation and regulations. The key requirements are presented below.
Requirements for the Beneficial Owners of a Crypto Exchange Company
The beneficial owners of a company are individuals who own the company’s property or at least 10% of the shares in the company’s authorized capital or shares. They can directly or through third parties influence the company’s decisions or control its actions.
In order for a crypto exchange company to operate in HTP, the beneficial owners must have at least 5 million US dollars in their bank accounts or deposits. This money can be stored in Belarusian banks and foreign financial institutions.
When applying to HTP, the owners must have this amount at the time of application or in any of the previous 90 days. In addition, the sources of these funds must be disclosed.
The official exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble to the US dollar (or other currency) set by the National Bank of Belarus is used for the calculation. However, the calculation does not include funds received on credit or under a loan agreement.
In addition, the beneficial owners of a company that wants to become an HTP resident crypto exchange must meet the following requirements:
- They should not have debts to the budget and state funds of Belarus or their country of citizenship.
- They should not have an outstanding conviction or unexpunged criminal record either in Belarus or in their country of citizenship.
- They cannot be bankrupt or in the process of bankruptcy in Belarus or another country.
- They should not be linked to the financing of terrorism, extremism, illegal arms trafficking or money laundering.
- They should not be subject to sanctions or other restrictions the UN Security Council imposes.
- Government agencies should not have information that could indicate reputational or other serious risks associated with these individuals.
- The beneficial owners of crypto exchanges must fill out a questionnaire about themselves in the prescribed form.
Requirements for a Crypto Exchange Company
1. The status of a resident of the Hi-Tech Park (HTP)
For legal activities in cryptocurrencies, a company must obtain the status of an HTP resident. Also, the company (and its owner) should not be deprived of the HTP resident status for three years before applying for HTP resident status for non-fulfilment of the HTP resident agreement, HTP regulations, and business project terms.
2. Financial requirements
Cryptocurrency exchange operators must have a minimum authorized capital of 200,000 Belarusian rubles.
3. Technical requirements
Companies must:
- Ensure customer identification.
- Implement measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
- Appoint an AML Compliance Officer and other key employees.
- Conduct an audit of the information system.
- Have a website.
- To develop local documents that are necessary for the operators of the crypto exchange platform.
4. Compliance by managers and key employees, as well as the property owner, founders, and participants, with the state’s requirements.
5. Availability of a report on fulfilling requirements or an external audit report.
A report on compliance with the requirements of the Regulation on Requirements for Cryptocurrency Exchange Operators is being prepared:
- An organization that is one of the” Big Four “companies providing audit and consulting services (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG).
- Or an organization that is included in the audit register, and its founder (participant) is (was) an organization that is part of the” Big Four “companies providing audit and consulting services, or such a legal entity lawfully uses the trademark (service mark) of such an organization.
When a report is not possible, one or more external audit reports, including a legal opinion, can be obtained. If you have any questions about such an opinion, we recommend that you contact our experienced lawyer.
Requirements for Managers and Key Employees
1. Qualification requirements
Managers, the chief accountant, the system administrator, and those responsible for risk management and money laundering prevention must have appropriate qualifications and experience in the financial or legal field.
2. Business reputation requirements
Key employees should not have an outstanding criminal record for crimes against property or economic crimes, nor should they have been dismissed for defamatory reasons in the last two years.
3. Requirements for the Deputy Director
If the company director does not have a qualification certificate of a securities market specialist of the first category, his deputy must have such a certificate. The deputy director must also meet the requirements for business reputation, including the absence of criminal records and dismissals due to defamatory circumstances.
4. Requirements for a risk manager
The official responsible for risk management must have a university degree and at least one year of work experience in the economic or legal field related to financial services, insurance, securities transactions or similar activities.
Compliance with these requirements is mandatory for obtaining HTP resident status and legally operating a cryptocurrency exchange in Belarus.
Registering a Crypto Exchange
The registration of a crypto exchange in the Republic of Belarus requires compliance with several requirements and the passage of certain procedures. Let’s look at the key points of this process.
1. Required documents and application stages
- Preparation of a business project
- Development of a detailed business plan describing the company’s activities in the field of cryptocurrencies, including financial forecasts and development strategy.
2. Applying HTP
The director of the company or an authorized representative submits an application for registration as an HTP resident. The application must be accompanied by:
- A business project.
- The company’s founding documents.
- Documents confirming the qualifications of managers and key employees.
- A report on meeting the requirements for a crypto exchange or an external audit report on the compliance of the company’s documents with the requirements established for crypto exchanges.
- A list of beneficial owners drawn up according to the HTP requirements.
- The questionnaires are the beneficiaries of the owners, owners, founders, and the company itself. The HTP Supervisory Board approved the questionnaires in the prescribed form.
- Other documents required by the decision of the HTP Supervisory Board for the legal operation of the crypto exchanger.
Consulting with our experienced lawyer can help you determine which documents are necessary to operate a crypto exchange.
Documents for registration as an HTP resident are submitted personally to the HTP Residents Registration Department of the state institution “HTP Supervisory Board Secretariat”.
3. Application review
The HTP Supervisory Board analyzes the submitted documents to ensure compliance with the established requirements. The Supervisory Board may request additional information or interview company representatives if necessary.
Terms of Consideration and Decision-Making on Registration
The HTP Supervisory Board will consider the application up to two months after the full package of documents is submitted. The company will be notified of the decision by e-mail.
After obtaining the HTP resident status, the company can start operating in cryptocurrencies by Belarusian legislation.
Conclusion
Registration of a crypto exchange in Belarus is a complex process that requires compliance with legal requirements, preparation of an extensive package of documents and interaction with government agencies. However, despite the high entry threshold, successful completion of all stages opens up significant prospects for businesses in the legal cryptocurrency sector.
Our lawyers have the necessary experience and knowledge to help you at every registration stage. We will prepare all necessary documents, consult on legal requirements, and represent your interests in government agencies. With us, the registration process will become much easier and more transparent. Contact us, and we will help your business enter the legal cryptocurrency market in Belarus.
Contact us
If you have any questions related to registration of a crypto exchange in Belarus, we will be happy to help! Our long-term experience will help you at every registration stage, and we will represent your interests in courts and government agencies.
- +37529142-27-19 (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram);
- info@ambylegal.by.
