Belarus Blocks Bybit, OKX, Citing “Inappropriate Advertising”

Belarus has abruptly restricted access to several major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bybit, OKX, and Bitget, in a move that sharply contradicts the government’s earlier pro-crypto messaging.

The block was enforced on December 10 under an order from the Ministry of Information and implemented by the state telecom authority BelGIE.

Users attempting to visit the exchanges from Belarusian IP addresses now receive a government notice citing the country’s Mass Media Act.

The notice refers to “inappropriate advertising,” though authorities have not clarified what specific violations occurred. The Ministry said details will only be disclosed by the platforms themselves.

Why the Exchanges Were Blocked

The action stems from a notification from the Minsk City Executive Committee and was carried out under Article 51 of the Mass Media Law.

Under this framework, sites can be blocked for repeated media violations, failure to fix regulatory issues, missing contact information, prohibited content, or actions deemed risks to national interests.

Access may be restored if the platforms correct the alleged violations, but OKX and Bitget have not issued public statements. In February 2025, Bitget secured a Bulgarian VASP license to expand its EU presence under MiCA.

Legal experts emphasize that Belarus has blocked access to the websites, not the exchanges’ global operations.

Some analysts suggest the issue could relate to compliance gaps or P2P activity that bypassed Belarus’s 2024 rules, which require all individual crypto transactions to go through High-Tech Park (HTP) residents.

None of the blocked exchanges have HTP status, meaning their use for local P2P trades was already outside legal boundaries.

Meanwhile, Binance and KuCoin remain accessible, raising questions about selective enforcement.

This comes even as Binance faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the EU, including fresh French AML inspections tied to MiCA and follow-up reviews after its recent $300 million refund incident.

Many users are turning to VPNs to bypass the restrictions, but lawyers caution that doing so may violate platform rules and lead to account suspensions.

A Warning Signal for Market Participants

The sudden, opaque restrictions highlight a significant regulatory risk for firms with exposure to Belarus. Despite earlier government efforts to promote crypto mining, the latest action underscores how quickly access can be revoked through administrative decree.

Institutions are likely to reassess counterparties tied to Belarus, recognizing the unstable policy environment and the geopolitical vulnerability of centralized exchange infrastructure.

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