Interest towards cryptocurrencies in Belarus has increased significantly in the past year. Topics related to bitcoin, mining, and blockchain have been popularized by media. Belarusians are searching for more crypto information online, but there are some key questions search engines are unable to answer: Will ordinary citizens benefit from the upcoming legalization? Are they going to be able to receive salaries and pay bills in bitcoin? Concerns are growing that Decree №8 may simply turn Belarus into a “crypto-offshore”.
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Cryptocurrency Searches Spike in Belarus
Politically and economically isolated from the West, Belarus has been labeled “Europe’s last dictatorship”. However, last year Minsk made a strategic decision to embrace crypto, surprising many of its critics. In December, President Lukashenko signed Decree №8 to legalize cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, and smart contracts. It enters into force on March 28 and introduces tax breaks and other incentives for crypto-related activities until 2023, in order to develop the local digital economy.
Interest towards cryptocurrencies in Belarus spiked last summer, when searches like “what is bitcoin?” and “what is blockchain?” increased substantially, according to the Russian search engine Yandex. By December, cryptocurrency topics climbed up to third place in its Belarusian statistics. Questions like “where can I get bitcoin?” have also contributed to that result. In January, Belarusians were typing “cryptocurrency” into the search bar 45 times more often than a year ago.
Queries regarding opportunities to earn money from crypto-related activities have also increased, Naviny reports. Phrases like “mining farm on credit” and “mining at home” are submitted much more often. Questions about mining hardware have jumped 20-fold since last year. Belarusians are also asking where they can buy “cheap cryptocurrency” and want to know the current rate of bitcoin. ICO-related searches have increased five-fold, with people interested in projects and opportunities.
All questions about crypto earnings have increased significantly in January after the signing of the presidential decree “On the development of the digital economy”. Experts and journalists, however, have been wondering whether Belarussians will be able to “monetize” the hype.
Is There a Catch-22 in Decree №8?
As news.Bitcoin.com reported, the presidential decree entitles companies and individual entrepreneurs to perform operations with tokens and cryptos. To do that, they have to register as residents of the Belarus High Technologies Park (HTP). Private individuals will be allowed to convert cryptos to fiat, using services provided by “crypto-platforms” registered there. However, at this point it seems no one can tell if ordinary Belarusians will be able to spend cryptos in stores or pay for their summer trip in bitcoin. “The issue of regulating cryptocurrency circulation is really relevant. Jurisdictions react differently – some allow it, others ban it, but very few ignore it,” financial analyst Vadim Yosub told Belapan news service, noting that the stance of
