Business news

MINSK, 12 March (BelTA) – The Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange (BCSE) will not carry out operations with cryptocurrencies, Chairman of the BCSE Board Andrei Aukhimenya told journalists on 12 March, BelTA has learned.

“The BCSE will never trade cryptocurrencies or conduct other operations with them. Those cryptocurrency exchanges named in Ordinance No. 8 do not have anything to do with the BCSE. They are affiliated neither with the National Bank nor with us. They are individual legal entities,” he said.

As for cryptocurrency operations, the state does not guarantee income, revenue, or payback, Andrei Aukhimenya clarified.

The Belarusian ruble is the only legal tender in Belarus, he recalled. “Operations with cryptocurrencies are a domain of the Hi-Tech Park only,” the executive remarked. He added that the BSCE’s participation was envisaged in the initial version of Ordinance No. 8.

The Digital Economy Development Ordinance shall come into force on 28 March. The document enables legal environment for initial coin offering (ICO), using cryptocurrency and smart contracts. Belarus is set to become the first country in the world with comprehensive regulation for blockchain-based business. The ordinance does not envisage any restrictions or special requirements for operations to create, store, acquire, and exchange tokens, for cryptocurrency platforms and cryptocurrency exchange operators.