President Lukashenko emphasized the role of digital assets and tokenization in sustaining payments under Western sanctions, highlighting rising transaction volumes and growing reliance on crypto-based systems.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko called on the country’s banks to expand cryptocurrency use, pointing to $1.7 billion in crypto-based external payments in the first half of 2024, with a potential rise to $3 billion by year-end. He highlighted tokenization’s ability to reduce intermediaries and enable smart contracts. The push comes amid escalating EU sanctions and is part of Belarus’ strategy to counter financial isolation, paralleling Russia’s crypto-driven bypass efforts.