Token (Belarus)

Token is a record in the ledger of transaction blocks (blockchain), other distributed information system, certifying that the owner of a digital token (token) has rights to the objects of civil law rights and/or is a cryptocurrency.

The definition is provided under the laws of the Republic of Belarus, namely Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 8 dated 21/12/2017.

In the Belarusian market, a token is a financial instrument that is analogous to a bond.

The main difference is the regulation of the market of these financial instruments, which represents a regulatory sandbox. The special legal regime for tokens in Belarus means that this market is not subject to the legal provisions of the securities laws of the Republic of Belarus and that it is not regulated by the Department of Securities of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus.

The Belarusian token market is regulated by the Hi-Tech Park. A number of issues on the operation of digital tokens (tokens) are covered by the regulations of the Hi-Tech Park. For example, the placement of tokens is regulated by the Rules for Providing Services Related to Creating and Placing Digital Tokens (Tokens) and Conducting Operations for Creating and Placing Own Digital Tokens (Tokens), which were approved by the Resolution of the Supervisory Board of the Hi-Tech Park.

The Hi-Tech Park is a special tax and legal regime for the development of IT business in Belarus. It is not a free (special) economic zone, but it is a jurisdiction operating on the extraterritoriality basis.

A detailed description of the main differences between tokens and bonds on the market of financial instruments in Belarus:
- No financial sufficiency requirements are imposed on token issuers;
- Token issuers have no obligations for information disclosure on a regular basis;
- Token issuers are not subject to state registration of financial instruments;
- Tokens are not subject to any restrictions on currency payments for instruments issued in foreign currency (payments on bonds denominated in foreign currency are restricted by Resolution of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus No. 612 dated 19/12/2018);
- The issue of tokens in foreign currency is not restricted (the issue of bonds in foreign currency is restricted by Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 36-3 dated 30/6/2020 "On Amendments to Laws on Currency Regulation and Currency Control");
- The token market is not subject to the legal regulations on depository activities.

On the belarusian market, tokens are placed in both BYN, EUR, USD and RUB.