During the meeting with the representatives of the IT-sector on April 12 in the High-Tech Park, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko said:
Wait, we will launch a nuclear power plant, (there will be) a surplus of electricity … I left the place there. We will build farms and mine these bitcoins and sell them. Moreover, they say, if you have bitcoin, it’s not a problem to sell it.
The first power block of Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) is planned to be launched in December 2019, the second – in summer 2020.
The country became attractive to IT-sector and cryptocurrency and blockchain-related business for over a year by now. Decree No.8 dated December 21, 2017 “On Digital Economy Development” was signed by the President and came into force on March 28, 2018. It created a very pleasant climate and tax conditions for such types of business. For example, HTP residents are exempt from most taxes, including income tax, until January 1, 2049.
The decree legitimized cryptocurrency exchanges in Belarus, cryptocurrency exchange operators, mining, smart contracts, blockchains and tokens, operations with which (mining, depositing accounts, buying, exchanging, testament) since the adoption of the decree were exempt from income tax and VAT before January 1, 2023.
The full text of the decree can be found here.
