On December 10, access to several cryptocurrency exchanges was restricted in the Republic of Belarus. The basis for this action was a notification from the Minsk City Executive Committee regarding inappropriate advertising on these platforms, according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Information.
The regulator stated that the decision was made under Article 51 of the “Law on Mass Media.” The agency clarified that details of the violations are disclosed only by the owners of the blocked resources.
Access may be restored once the violations are rectified. At the time of publication, representatives from OKX and Bitget had not responded to ForkLog’s inquiries.
According to the law, grounds for blocking include:
- repeated violations of media legislation;
- dissemination of information prohibited by law or court;
- failure to comply with Ministry of Information requirements to rectify violations;
- absence of contact information for the resource owner;
- court or Interdepartmental Commission decisions on risks to national interests;
- liquidation of the legal owner;
- use of unregistered media;
- prohibition of foreign resource activities.
Andrey Tugarin, founder of the legal agency GMT Legal, clarified to the editorial team that the matter concerns blocking access to websites, not banning exchange operations. Initially, he speculated that the cause might be violations of AML and compliance requirements:
“Perhaps Belarusian authorities considered that a significant volume of ‘dirty’ assets was passing through these exchanges.”
He added that such restrictions are usually temporary, and major platforms can quickly meet the necessary requirements.
Anni Kukel, director of the legal company WhiteBird Legal LLC, noted that there was also active discussion online about possible violations related to P2P transactions.
According to the decree “On the Circulation of Digital Tokens” from September 17, 2024, transactions by individuals with cryptocurrencies can only be conducted through residents of the High-Tech Park (HTP), the expert reminded. Transactions bypassing these requirements are considered illegal.
According to Tugarin, the trading rules for Belarusian users have not changed. None of the blocked exchanges have HTP resident status, so transactions through them were not permitted even before the access restriction.
“Trading cryptocurrency on exchanges that are blocked is possible using proxy services,” he concluded.
Back in November, Belarusians and Russians complained about account blockages at Bybit EU and Revolut.