30 days without fiat: how I tried to live on Bitcoin in Minsk \ stacker news ~bitcoin

Or the story of how "crypto-friendly" legislation proved useless in practice

TL;DR: I planned to live for a month in Minsk, a city in a country with some of the most progressive crypto legislation in the world, using only Bitcoin. Spoiler alert: the experiment failed on the second day. But I learned a lot of interesting things about how Bitcoin works (and doesn't work) in real life.

Background: why Minsk?

When I read that Belarus had adopted the revolutionary Decree No. 8 "On the Development of the Digital Economy" back in 2017, legalizing cryptocurrencies, I thought I should try it here.

In theory, everything looked perfect:

Cryptocurrency is completely legal
You can freely buy, sell, and mine
Legal crypto exchanges are operating as residents of the HTP (High-Tech Park)
There are no taxes on transactions through HTP residents
The country positions itself as the IT hub of Eastern Europe

It seemed that if it were possible to live on Bitcoin in the post-Soviet space, then it would be here.

Experiment budget: 0.035 BTC (~$4,300 at October 2025 exchange rate)
Wallet: Phoenix with Lightning Network
Duration: 30 days
Rules: No fiat. Only BTC and Lightning.

I naively believed that with Lightning Network, I would pay pennies in commission for coffee, and sellers would be happy to accept my sats. The reality turned out to be... different.

Days 1-3: Euphoria and the first disappointment

Day 1: A confident start

The first task of the day: buy coffee.

I opened btcmap.org — a global map of places that accept Bitcoin. In Minsk, there were... zero points on the map. Not a single one. Strange, but I didn't think much of it, because in the CIS, people generally try not to advertise such things.

I went to the nearest coffee shop in the city center. It was a trendy place with lots of IT guys, so they should understand the topic.

"Good afternoon! Do you accept Bitcoin?"
[The barista looks at me like I'm an alien].
"What?"
"Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency. Lightning Network?"
"Sorry, only cards or cash."

Okay. Next coffee shop. Same result. And three more after that.

Result of the first day: I didn't buy any coffee. But I found out that no café in the center of Minsk accepts Bitcoin. Not a single one.

Day 2:

On the second day, I decided to take a systematic approach. I started calling restaurants and stores and asking questions in local crypto community chat rooms. The answers were all the same:

"We'd love to, but it's illegal."

Wait. Illegal? But crypto is legal in Belarus, isn't it?

That's when I decided to study the legislation more carefully.

Legislative paradox: you can do everything with crypto except the most important thing

What the law actually says

Yes, Decree No. 8 of 2017 legalized cryptocurrencies. Here is what individuals are allowed to do:

✅ Own tokens (cryptocurrency)
✅ Store them in virtual wallets
✅ Mine
✅ Buy and sell for fiat through HTP residents
✅ Exchange tokens for other tokens
✅ Give and bequeath

Cool, right? But there's a catch.

Key phrase from the legislation:
> "The law prohibits receiving income in digital units for services rendered or goods sold, as cryptocurrency is not a means of payment in Belarus."

That is:

Buying Bitcoin — allowed
Selling Bitcoin — allowed
Paying for coffee with Bitcoin — not allowed
Accepting Bitcoin for goods — not allowed

Decree No. 367: the final nail in the coffin

In September 2024, Presidential Decree No. 367 "On the circulation of digital tokens" was issued, which further tightened the situation:

❌ Prohibited: buying and selling cryptocurrency for cash outside of HTP resident platforms
❌ Prohibited: P2P transactions between individuals for fiat currency
❌ Administrative liability for violating these rules

This means you cannot:

Meet with someone and buy/sell crypto for cash
Pay with Bitcoin in a store
Accept Bitcoin as payment if you are a seller

But you can... trade on foreign exchanges (Binance, Bybit) and exchange crypto for crypto anywhere. Then, to withdraw to fiat, you must go through the Belarusian resident exchange HTP.

For my experiment, this meant one thing: it is legally impossible to live on Bitcoin for a month in Minsk.

As you might guess, all other methods, such as crypto cards or legal exchange through residents of the high-tech park, are not at all what I had hoped for.

And the whole process turns from a pleasure into a quest.

Agreements with individual sellers

Theoretically, it is possible to find someone willing to accept Bitcoin directly. However:

❌ This violates Decree No. 367 — transactions between individuals outside the HTP are prohibited. ❌ Administrative liability for both parties.
❌ Risk of fraud — there is no protection for the transaction

I met a couple of people from the local Bitcoin community who agreed to exchange BTC for goods or services. But each of them emphasized: "This is a gray area, we are taking a risk."

The experiment ended before it even really began.

What I was able to buy directly with BTC without conversion

For the entire month, there were exactly two direct Bitcoin payments:

VPN subscription — Mullvad VPN accepts BTC/LN
ppq.ai — access to various LLMs

But none of this applies to shopping in Minsk specifically.

The paradox of Belarusian crypto legislation

Belarus:

✅ Legalized crypto earlier than most countries
✅ Created the HTP and attracted crypto exchanges
✅ Permitted mining
✅ Exempted from taxes (until 2025)

But:

❌ Prohibited its use as a means of payment
❌ Controls all fiat transactions
❌ Did not provide businesses with tools for accepting it

Conclusion: Cryptocurrency is legal for speculation, but not for use. Mass adoption is delayed

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @justin_shocknet 3h

to withdraw to fiat, you must go through the Belarusian resident exchange HTP

This is basically how the legacy fiat system keeps non-dollar fiats propped up via the SWIFT system, the exchange rate between dollars and fx is fake, the states control flows to skim and maintain dollar reserves for debt service and imports etc.

Since Bitcoin is fx collateral at the state level, unsurprising they'd do the same with it. Bigger challenge to control of course given it's nature, but all the more important to control for if it were to free flow in the economy with any meaningful velocity it would undermine the national currency.

Tariffs/sanctions are how the US is now fighting back against this, skimming the skim basically.

How feasible is using dollars (or maybe euros) in Belarus? I'd think using Bitcoin in a low risk way is really only possible in dollarized countries where there's not an artificially pegged local currency.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Signal312 4h

Thanks for these interesting details.

What's the purpose of these lopsided restrictions?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 1h

MoE is hugely obstructed everywhere - by the legacy fiat operators...for good reason- it threatens their global monetary hegemony and enslavement of humanity. That hegemony is based upon domination of MoE. MoE use of BTC is outright banned in virtually all autocracies. In the 'liberal democracies' its more sly and subtle - every MoE usage triggers a tax compliance recording and payment event, making lawful MoE use effectively impractical.

Do you pay the tax due upon every zap and post? Like fuck you do, you rebel!

And then there's the FUD and threats (and acts) of debanking of any merchant who dares to accept BTC as a payment option...and if they, do who will spend? Bitcoiners, about maybe 1% of most populations, are mostly obediently KYCed, DCAing and Hodling...following the speculative commodity narrative that logically follows the obstruction of MoE usage. They don't want to Break The Law by spending sats.

The Fiat Debt Slavery Bankers Cartel quivered in their well heeled boots in fear of this challenge to their global power and so have responded most determinedly, slyly cajoling the docile masses into the blind alley of greed is good commodity speculation complete with track and trace KYC and tax.

Where El Salvador dared to allow MoE usage as of right the IMF (FDSBC) used existing fiat debt obligations El Salvador was already enslaved by to force a backdown. Cunning Fiat Debt Slavery Bankers with their military, IMF and government lackeys... Their apologists are everywhere...

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Monotone OP 4h

As always - control over cash flow

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @clink_demo 3h

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