Ananya DuttaBelarus, a country that is known for its Soviet style economy, has come up with a surprise move of legalizing its transactions in cryptocurrencies. The country has come up with this decision in order to develop and support private sector growth and attract foreign investments by liberalizing the economy. A decree in this regard was signed by President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.
The popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin has lost a third of its total value since the value surged to around $20,000 on Sunday. Though there are beliefs that the value is volatile and it is just a bubble, a part of its supporters strongly believe that it is the start of a new monetary system that does not heavily rely upon the bank.
“All smart and intelligent people know what stability and order are. They’re all trying to reach that shore. We’re prepared to arrange a dock and even a harbor,” says President Lukashenko.
Lukashenko has been working towards reviving the economy after the recessions of 2015 and 2016. He is currently looking to improve business environment for private sectors and other avenues. It is to be noted that Belarus has some top range IT brands operating successfully despite the country being held in the soviet backing.
The legalization of cryptocurrency would attract digital coin business field that are looking to move to a more amicable location in order to avoid scrutiny from regulators over many digital fund raising like that of Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The decree also allows IT companies to operate as per the English law which is a blessing to many organizations that are finding it difficult to juggle through the Belarussian legal system.
Mohith Agadi
Damodar Kalyan
