Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has authorised the country’s banks to expand their use of cryptocurrencies in a bid to counter the impact of international sanctions and shore up the struggling economy.
At a meeting with central and commercial bank leaders, Lukashenko called for urgent action to treat digital assets as strategic tools to stabilise and grow the financial system, according to the state-run Belarusian Telegraph Agency.
“Over the past five years, the national economy, and with it the Belarusian banking sector, have faced unprecedented challenges. The government and the National Bank have been given corresponding instruction. Now act,” he said.
The move follows Lukashenko’s recent push for lawmakers to establish a transparent regulatory framework for digital assets. Sanctions tied to Belarus’s backing of Russia in the Ukraine war have deepened its economic woes, prompting authorities to look to cryptocurrencies as a potential lifeline.
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Crypto media outlets carry they story.
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Lukashenko’s push underscores how sanctioned states may lean on digital assets, reinforcing the case for crypto as a geopolitical hedge.
