Belarusbank, the largest financial institution in Belarus, is reportedly considering launching its own digital asset exchange.
Planning To Offer Wider Range Of Financial Services
Viktor Ananich, the board chairman at Belarusbank, recently told Belarus 1 TV channel that the bank would be focusing on adopting the latest financial technology this year. According to local news outlet BelTA, Belarusbank will be partnering with mobile service providers in order to offer a wider range of financial products. Commenting on the Belarusbank’s tentative plans to launch a cryptoasset exchange, Ananich remarked:
We are considering a possibility to establish a cryptocurrency exchange. We are working on it.
Ananich revealed that Belarusbank’s management team was also planning on offering a virtual payment card to its clients. He added:
Digitalization-related projects will be virtually exclusive in nature.
Preparing For Rapidly Evolving Digital Economy
Ananich explained that financial institutions throughout the world have been working on many different initiatives that will help prepare them for the rapidly evolving digital economy. Although “digitalization” is not a new development for the global banking industry, the Belarusbank board director pointed out that “things are changing very fast and we need to keep up with them.”
Belarusbank is the largest banking institution in the landlocked Eastern European nation and it is owned by the State Property Committee of Belarus. With total assets worth over $13.5 billion, Belarusbank provides investment banking, private equity, and wealth management services.
On January 15th, the first Currency.com backed digital asset exchange was reportedly launched in Belarus. The trading platform’s investors include Larnabel Ventures, a Moscow-based venture capital fund focused on the IT sector, and VP Capital, an investment firm founded by London-based Belarusian tech entrepreneur, Victor Prokopeni.
Accounting & Taxation System For Cryptoassets
On March 28th, 2018, regulatory authorities in Belarus introduced a new accounting standard for cryptoassets. The proposed standard classifies digital assets according to their acquisition and intended use. As part of a presidential decree, the new standards were developed by the finance ministry in Minsk (capital city of Belarus) and they provide a set of guidelines for crypto-to-crypto transactions.
According to Belarus’ proposed regulatory framework for digital assets, tokens issued through initial coin offerings (ICOs) are considered a form of investment. If a digital token’s circulation period exceeds 12 months, then it will categorized as a “long-term financial investment.”
When cryptoassets are purchased on a secondary market such as overseas exchanges, they should be reported as “goods” for tax collection purposes (in Belarus). Meanwhile, revenue from crypto mining in the form of cryptoassets should be classified as “finished goods” when filing taxes.
