Crypto-Dictatorship
- Admin of the NAM
- Mar 17
- 5 min read
How Lukashenko's regime decided to circumvent sanctions using cryptocurrency
The crypto economy was conceived as an instrument of technological progress, financial innovation, and decentralisation. However, in the hands of dictatorial regimes, it becomes a tool for circumventing sanctions and financing aggressive policy.
And the Lukashenko regime understands this perfectly. Lukashenko himself speaks about it directly. In September 2025, he stated: "Today, cryptocurrency-based transactions are more active than ever, and their role in facilitating payments is growing."
But behind that formulation lies an entirely different meaning. This is not simply about technological development. It is about building an alternative financial infrastructure designed to circumvent sanctions.
Regime representatives openly declare their intention to turn the country into a hub for cryptocurrency operations. The First Deputy Chairman of the National Bank, Alexander Yegorov, recently stated on state television that Belarus supposedly "approaches the development of the crypto sphere more intelligently than Switzerland and the United States, and knows better how it should be regulated."
This sounds like propaganda. But in reality it is a political statement. It means the regime is deliberately constructing its own model of crypto market regulation — not to protect investors, but to bypass international restrictions.
That is precisely why the country is already discussing the creation of the first crypto bank. According to the same National Bank representative, it could appear in Belarus within six months. This project is enshrined in Lukashenko's Decree No. 19 "On Crypto Banks and Certain Issues of Control in the Sphere of Digital Tokens." Translated from bureaucratic language into reality — this is the creation of an institutional channel for cryptocurrency settlements.
Why does the regime need this? Because it is subject to sweeping international sanctions — for repression against its own people and for complicity in aggression. That is why cryptocurrencies are viewed by the regime as a means of circumventing financial isolation.
Lukashenko himself cites the figures. In the first seven months of 2025, the volume of external payments via cryptocurrency exchanges amounted to 1.7 billion dollars. By the end of the year, that figure could have reached 3 billion dollars.
These are enormous figures for the Belarusian economy. The regime also claims that international crypto exchanges operating in the country could double the volume of external payments. However, it is important to understand: in reality, cryptocurrency in Belarus is used not by citizens, but by the state.
Last year, Lukashenko signed a law prohibiting private individuals from buying and selling cryptocurrency outside Belarusian exchanges. This means one thing: the cryptocurrency infrastructure is being centralised by the state. In other words — crypto is not for the people, but for the regime.
Moreover, the Belarusian authorities do not even conceal their intentions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus prepared a document that effectively constitutes an instruction manual for circumventing sanctions. It explicitly proposes the use of:
barter schemes,
abandonment of Western currencies,
and cryptocurrency as a settlement instrument.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly states that such methods are widely used by, for example, Iran. In other words, the state is consciously studying the experience of other sanctioned regimes. Furthermore, the document even proposes seeking consultations from specialists in EU, US, and Canadian countries — because they are better placed to identify loopholes in legislation. The authors of the document themselves acknowledge: such consultations are unlawful and may entail criminal liability.
This is an unprecedented case. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs is effectively developing recommendations for violating the legal norms of other countries.
We must also understand the scale of what is happening. According to a report by the analytics firm Chainalysis, the volume of cryptocurrency transactions linked to the circumvention of international sanctions rose sharply in 2025.
Addresses associated with sanctioned entities received approximately 154 billion dollars in cryptocurrency — a increase of 700 percent compared to the previous year. That is nearly a sevenfold increase in illicit activity. And a significant share of these operations is linked to a new instrument — the A7A5 stablecoin, pegged to the Russian ruble.
According to analysts: approximately 72 billion dollars in transactions involved this token, which processed more than 93 billion dollars in operations in less than a year.
This token is used as a payment channel for sanctioned Russian companies. It is linked to the Grinex and Meer crypto exchanges, through which billions of dollars in transactions passed before US and European Union sanctions were imposed. In addition, the A7A5 Instant Swapper service was discovered, enabling rapid conversion of this token into dollar-denominated stablecoins, with user verification procedures that are either minimal or entirely absent. More than 2.2 billion dollars has already passed through this service. This is effectively a mechanism that allows sanctioned entities to embed themselves into the global crypto economy.
It is crucial to understand that the Lukashenko regime is not acting alone here. It is part of a broader system — the Russian sanctions economy. Russia is actively seeking alternative financial channels to fund its war against Ukraine. And the Lukashenko regime provides the infrastructure for this. This is yet another example of Belarus being used by the Kremlin as a platform for circumventing sanctions.
The European Union has already begun to respond. Under new sanctions packages, additional restrictions have been introduced. Belarusian residents are prohibited from opening crypto wallets and holding crypto assets on Western exchanges, and from holding management positions in companies providing such services.
Furthermore, under the latest EU sanctions package, sanctions were imposed against the developer of the A7A5 stablecoin, its issuer, and the platform on which this asset is traded. Transactions involving this token are prohibited throughout the European Union. In November 2025, Poland imposed sanctions against the company "ERPBEL" — the operator of the Belarusian cryptocurrency exchange BYNEX. This is an important step. But it is only the beginning.
It is now becoming clear: sanctions regimes must adapt to the new reality of digital finance. The following are necessary:
Strengthening monitoring of cryptocurrency transactions linked to sanctioned regimes.
Expanding sanctions against cryptocurrency platforms that help circumvent restrictions.
Strengthening cooperation between states and blockchain analytics firms.
Introducing additional measures against state cryptocurrency projects of authoritarian regimes.
Because if this is not done, cryptocurrencies could become the largest instrument for circumventing sanctions in the twenty-first century.
The Lukashenko regime attempts to present its cryptocurrency policy as innovation. But in reality this is not innovation. It is an instrument of regime survival. An instrument for circumventing sanctions. An instrument for supporting Russian aggression. And that is precisely why the international community must closely monitor the development of this infrastructure.
The Belarus of the future — a democratic Belarus — will be part of a transparent global economy. But for as long as the country remains a hostage of a regime that uses any technology — even the most advanced — to preserve illegitimate and unlawful power.
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