Meeting with President: How to develop IT

16 марта 2021
The IT develop was discussed at the Palace of Independence. The country has had Decree No. 8 "On digitization of economy" for four years now. During this time we have achieved really good results: the HTP resident companies have reached almost 3 billion dollars in exports. The implementation of digital technologies in everyday life is also growing.

The more important this sphere is, the more relevant are security issues, especially financial ones. This applies not only to various transactions, but also to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin today costs about 143 thousand Belarusian rubles and for many it is the most attractive investment. 

However, there is a question how to track cryptocurrencies and how to make sure that they are not used to finance terrorism or another revolution. 

The leitmotif of the meeting in the Palace of Independence was the fight against illegal digital financial operations. This does not mean toughening the rules, and no one is going to take away bitcoins. 

Belarus was one of the first  countries in the world to legalize smart contracts, and cryptocurrency. Moreover, bitcoin is exempt from taxes until January 1, 2023 and is not subject to declaration for individuals. The first crypto-boom passed, 10 years ago the market was born in the chaos of the World Wide Web, and today many countries are looking for ways to bring "coins" out of the darkness, because it is almost impossible to track who and what does with bitcoins without the owner's consent.

It makes no sense to attack bitcoin. The government understands this, but regulation of the crypto-exchanges is necessary, as well as control over basic operations, because the downside of bitcoin is its value on the black market.

Through the Darknet (hidden Internet) drugs, organs, even tanks are bought and money is laundered anonymously. 

The future of the IT-country 

Digitalization is an important element of the country's development. And each ministry must have people who understand how to apply this digitalization in practice in other areas of the economy, say, the agricultural sector and mechanical engineering.

The government promises to outline a clearer approach to the creation of such an institution by summer. Today, brains and specialists are the main resource that can generate money much faster than gas, oil or gold. The HTP together with its residents is currently an important driver of the domestic economy, and with great opportunities great responsibility comes.