Tag: Belarus

Belarus President Signs Free Flow Crypto Decree

by Blockchain News

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree that will allow the free circulation of cryptocurrencies. 

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The Council of Ministers will implement the order within three months of its publication. However, the move will also give the national cryptocurrency regulator Hi-Tech Park (HTP) authority to create a register for crypto wallet addresses that are or can be used for illicit purposes.

Lukashenko signed the order with an aim to “protect participants in the digital asset market from loss of property and prevent unintentional involvement in activities prohibited by law,” the president’s press service announced.

The official announcement also said that “Belarus is consistently developing the legal field for regulating activities related to digital assets, and, unlike many other states, allows the free circulation of digital currencies. At the same time, this requires constant monitoring of the situation and, if necessary, supplementing and clarifying regulatory norms, including to exclude cases of shadow financing of prohibited activities.”

The document also specifies the procedure and standards for the government’s seizure of cryptocurrencies from offenders.

According to the document, wallet addresses will be added to the register if law enforcement agencies obtain data suggesting illegal operations or transactions related to extremism and terrorism.

Lukashenko has been a proponent of cryptocurrencies and has been reinforcing the country’s focus on cryptocurrency development, including cryptocurrency mining and trade.

In September 2021, Lukashenko called on his fellow citizens to mine cryptocurrency using unused electricity infrastructure.

Crypto activities in Belarus were legalised in 2017 after a presidential decree was signed and it was enforced in May of the following year. Tax breaks and other incentives for crypto businesses were also introduced accordingly.

Belarus ranks third in Eastern Europe in terms of crypto adoption even though cryptocurrencies cannot be used as legal tender, according to the Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. 

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Belarus President Alexandra Lukashenko Urges His Citizens to Embrace Bitcoin Mining

by Blockchain News

The president of Belarus, Alexandra Lukashenko, has urged his citizens to stay in their home country and start mining Bitcoin instead of working in other overseas countries. 

The president said that during the Petrikovsky mining and processing plant opening last week on Friday, August 27.

 Lukashenko clarified that his nation enjoys adequate energy resources to deal with those electricity-intensive activities that China has famously banned in May.

“Create something with electricity. After all, start mining cryptocurrencies or whatever it’s called. There is enough electricity in the country.” Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko urged Belarusians to stay in the nation and seek alternative sources of income such as Bitcoin mining instead of moving to Germany or Poland to fill farming job positions. The Belarus president mentioned the already existing locations that Belarusians could use to conduct Bitcoin mining, urging citizens to use the country’s abandoned industrial sites to mine cryptocurrency rather than move overseas to look for low-paying jobs.  

Lukashenko reiterated that Belarusians are not wanted abroad, saying that foreigners are only waiting for Belarusians to pick strawberries.

“We must understand; they are not waiting for us anywhere. And if someone is waiting…maybe on the plantations, as Ukrainians often say, the Poles there or the Germans have to squirm, pick strawberries,” he stated.

Lukashenko, who became president in 1994, has been favouring cryptocurrency mining for a while. Belarus legalised Bitcoin-related business activities, including crypto mining, with Lukashenko approving the decision in 2018. In April 2019, the president suggested using the surplus power produced by the nuclear power plant in the Grodno region for Bitcoin mining.

Lukashenko argued that by using abundant energy that could otherwise go to waste, Belarusians could harness crypto mining and further increase their profit-making opportunities.

Bitcoin’s Energy Problem

Lukashenko’s remarks come when crypto mining recently faced fierce criticism worldwide for its negative environmental impact.

In May, the Bitcoin price dropped below $30,000 for the first time since January, after surging to an all-time high of almost $65,00 in mid-April.

While Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets were one of the key reasons for such a price dip, China’s massive crackdown on cryptocurrencies was another major reason. China’s government intensified the crackdown on cryptocurrency mining and trading to prevent the transmission of individual risks to the social field.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining can be a very lucrative business in places with abundant, cheap energy sources. For example, two kids in Texas are making over $30,000 a month with cryptocurrency mining.

Since China issued a countrywide ban on Bitcoin mining, miners are moving overseas, and Belarus might also become a viable option due to its cheap electricity sources.

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Belarus President Urges Citizens To Mine Bitcoin Rather Than Seek Low-Paying Jobs Overseas

by Bitcoin Magazine

The President of Belarus said in a meeting that citizens should mine bitcoin with the country’s abundant energy instead of seeking low wages abroad.

Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, urged citizens to stay in their home country and mine bitcoin instead of moving abroad for low-paying jobs, reported CoinMarketCap. Rather than travel to Poland or Germany to fill farming positions, Lukashenko said in a recent meeting with the employees of JSC Belaruskali, Belarusians should stay in the country and seek alternative sources of income such as mining bitcoin.

“Create something with electricity,” Lukashenko urged in a video posted by the “Pool of the First” Telegram channel. “In the end, start mining cryptocurrency, or whatever it’s called. There is enough electricity in the country.”

Bitcoin mining can be a very lucrative business in places with abundant, cheap energy sources. In Texas, for instance, two kids are making over $30,000 a month with mining operations. Since China instituted a nationwide ban on bitcoin mining, miners are moving overseas, and Belarus might also become a viable option.

Bitcoin-related activities are already regulated in Belarus since 2018. In April 2019, Lukashenko went as further as to suggest that bitcoin mining farms could harness the surplus power produced by the nuclear power plant in the Grodno region, according to the report. By capturing abundant energy that could otherwise go to waste, miner profitability can be increased even further.

According to Lukashenko, Belarusians would be better off mining bitcoin than seeking low-paying farming jobs abroad. JSC Belaruskali, where Lukashenko told workers that Belarusians are not wanted abroad, is one of the world’s biggest producers of potash fertilizers. The president added that foreigners are only waiting for Belarusians to “pick strawberry.”

“We must understand, they are not waiting for us anywhere,” Lukashenko said. “And if someone is waiting…maybe on the plantations, as Ukranians often say, the Poles there or the Germans have to squirm, pick strawberries.”

Belarusians can achieve financial and individual sovereignty with Bitcoin and bitcoin mining instead of submitting themselves to low-paying farming roles in nations abroad. By capturing the country’s abundant energy to power bitcoin mining rigs, they can increase their otherwise low wages. Additionally, they would also save directly in BTC, taking complete control over their money and protecting their families’ purchasing power over generations to come.

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Belarus president Lukashenko calls on state to mine cryptocurrency

by Cointelegraph

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called on the government to mine cryptocurrency use spare power infrastructure.

Lukashenko spoke at the opening of the Petrikovsky mining and processing plant on Aug. 27, urging workers to move into crypto mining in Belarus instead of pursuing low-paying farming positions abroad, Russian news agency RBC reported.

The president said that Belarus has enough electricity resources to power cryptocurrency mining, pointing to abandoned industrial sites that could be used to generate revenue. Lukashenko stated:

“We must understand, they are not waiting for us anywhere […] Build something based on electricity. After all, start mining cryptocurrencies or whatever it’s called. There is enough electricity in the country.”

The Petrikovsky plant is officially the largest investment project of state-owned Belaruskali, one of the world’s biggest producers of potash fertilizers, reportedly accounting for 20% of global supply as of 2019. The sole Belarusian potash exporter, Belaruskali was sanctioned by the United States government in mid-August, among other punitive measures against President Lukashenko.

Related: New project aims to bring global crypto miners to Russia

Lukashenko’s latest call for crypto mining follows multiple efforts of the Belarusian government to move into the growing cryptocurrency mining industry. In February, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Belarus said that it was investigating the risks and benefits of crypto mining for a potential move into the sector. In April 2019, Lukashenko proposed to deploy excess energy from the country’s first nuclear power plant to mine cryptocurrencies and sell them.