Belarus Crypto Banks Open Door to Bitcoin, Ethereum and 26 Digital Assets

Belarus has formalized a crypto-banking framework that allows licensed banks to operate with roughly 26 cryptocurrencies — explicitly including Bitcoin and Ethereum — under Decree No. 19. Crypto banks must register as High-Tech Park residents and operate as joint-stock companies, while the National Bank assumes direct supervision. Approved services include deposits, staking, crypto lending, collateral-backed loans, custody, token issuance and transfers, effectively combining fiat banking and digital-asset operations within a regulated institutional structure. The move is likely bullish for onshore institutional adoption of BTC and ETH in Belarus by expanding legal rails and banking-grade services, though broader geopolitical and EU restrictions on Belarus/Russia-linked providers may limit cross-border impacts.