The country will still allow people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through registered exchanges.
Belarus is working on a partial cryptocurrency ban.
The country’s interior ministry said in a statement on Sunday that fraudsters are using P2P crypto services to cash out illicit funds.
The statement added that the agency is working on legislation to ban transactions involving “cryptocurrency exchanges between individuals.”
"Since the beginning of the year, employees of the Cybercrime Combating Unit have stopped the activities of 27 citizens who provided illegal cryptocurrency exchange services, with a total illegal income of nearly 22 million rubles ($8.7 million)," the statement said.
It also said the ministry will work to restrict crypto P2P services so that crypto trading is allowed only through registered exchanges, making it “impossible to withdraw funds obtained through criminal means.”
P2P (peer-to-peer) service means that two parties interact directly without the involvement of a third party.
Belarus is generally cryptocurrency-friendly. The country legalized digital asset trading in 2017, and earlier this year blockchain data firm Glassnode ranked it among the top 10 cryptocurrency tax-friendly countries.
A new law provides tax exemptions for individuals and businesses that trade in cryptocurrencies. The idea is to boost the growth of the digital economy and help the tech industry, and the law will be reviewed this year.
Back in 2020, the state-owned Belarusbank launched a cryptocurrency exchange, allowing Belarusians and Russians to buy Bitcoin using Visa payment cards.