Belarusbank mulls launching cryptocurrency exchange

Belarusbank, the largest bank in Belarus, is considering launching a platform for the trading of cryptocurrencies, Finance Magnates reported referring to a report from BeITA.

The cryptocurrency exchange platform plans have been revealed by Viktor Ananich, the Chairman of the Board of the bank, while speaking to the Belarus 1 TV channel.

“We are considering a possibility to establish a cryptocurrency exchange. We are working on it,” Ananich said.

This marks yet another instance of growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies. Recently, Dukascopy Bank, a leading Swiss online bank, partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp in a bid to enable crypto funding on its platform.

The bank, with digitalization as one of the key focus areas for this year, is also seeking to expand its range of services by collaborating with mobile service providers.

“Digitalization-related projects will be virtually exclusive in nature. However, at present things are changing very fast and we need to keep up with them,” Ananich added.

Belarus legalized crypto-related activities last year when the presidential decree “On the Development of the Digital Economy” came into effect in March. The decree, which aimed to encourage digital economy in the country, not only legalized crypto activities but also introduced tax relief for crypto businesses until January 1, 2023, Bitcoin.com reported.