TechFlow reports that Belarus's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is drafting legal amendments to ban peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus (MFA) officially announced on Telegram on July 2 about new legislation that would prohibit individuals from conducting P2P cryptocurrency transactions.
Citing high rates of cybercrime in Belarus, authorities stated that local prosecutors have cracked down on 27 citizens providing "illegal cryptocurrency trading services" since the beginning of this year. Their total illicit earnings amounted to nearly 22 million Belarusian rubles (8.7 million U.S. dollars).
The MFA argued that crypto P2P services are "popular among scammers who cash out and convert stolen funds, transferring money to organizers or participants of criminal schemes."
To eliminate such illegal activities, the MFA will ban individuals from engaging in P2P transactions and will only permit them to trade cryptocurrencies through exchanges registered in Belarus's High-Tech Park (HTP).
