Belarus: Some Crypto Exchanges Will Be Required To Hand Over Customer Data, Report Says

A crypto-related decree in Belarus will be updated to require certain crypto exchanges to provide customer data to authorities, Forklog reports today, May 1.

Belarus’ Decree on the Development of Digital Economy is being revised to include a requirement for crypto exchanges based in the country’s High-Tech Park (HTP) to provide identifying data on their customers.

According to sources at RIA Novosti, cited by Forklog, in order to open a crypto exchange in the HTP,  a company must provide information on its management structure, clients’ names and records of communications. The data will reportedly be stored for at least five years, and in some cases KYC requirements will be applied to new customers, the publication reports.

According to RIA Novosti’s source:

“The beneficiaries must meet the reputation requirements: no criminal record, no bankruptcy proceedings against a person or evidence of bankruptcy. At least $5 million in available funds should be shown in their accounts with the source of the money confirmed.”

Forklog notes that crypto exchanges must also employ a risk manager, a specialist in regulatory compliance, and a technical director, as well as adopt current financial standards.

Forklog reported that it is unclear when these revisions will be implemented.

HTP, Belarus’s “Silicon Valley”-like tech park, offers tax breaks to participating companies until January 1, 2023, as per the March 23 signing of the Decree of Digital Economy. After the decree was signed, the number of HTP residents jumped to 88 – an increase of 25 percent. However, one current problem with operating a cryptocurrency exchange in Belarus is that Belarusian banks don’t yet have the infrastructure to engage in crypto transactions, as CT reported last month.

At the end of March, Belarus also officially introduced cryptocurrency accounting standards. This announcement falls in line with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signing the Decree on the Development of Digital Economy last December, which supports blockchain and cryptocurrency development.