Belarus Registers Its First Two Crypto Banks as HTP Residents

Belarus has registered two crypto banks for the first time as residents of the High Technologies Park (HTP). For PSPs and acquirers, the important bit is that HTP residency is only one part of the approval chain: the institutions must still go through accreditation with the National Bank.

1. Anna Ryabova, head of the secretariat of the HTP Supervisory Board, said the two crypto banks were registered as residents in Belarus’s High Technologies Park. She did not name the institutions.
2. According to Ryabova, once an entity gets resident status, it then undergoes accreditation on the National Bank side. In other words, registration in the HTP does not by itself complete market access.
3. Ryabova linked the registrations to a January presidential decree. She said more than half a year of work had been done together with the National Bank, with the Supervisory Board adopting the necessary decisions to formalize the framework.
4. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed the decree on January 16. It covers crypto banks and control over the digital token sector.
5. Under the decree, a crypto bank is a joint-stock company that, alongside standard financial operations including banking and payment services, uses cryptocurrency. The institution must be a resident of the High Technologies Park, where a special legal regime allows operations with digital assets, and must also be included in the National Bank’s register.

The setup is a two-track regime: the HTP handles the digital-asset layer, while the National Bank adds the ordinary banking and payments layer. Belarusian authorities say this structure will allow crypto banks to offer clients “innovative financial products,” which in practice means combining conventional financial services with cryptocurrency use.