Financial Controls Stepped Up in Belarus as Internet Connections are Locked Down

On the 31st of October, last year, I reported on the disproportionate number of people in Belarus and Ukraine that were using Bitcoin, postulating that it may have had something to do with the precariousness of their currencies.

With the situation in Belarus continuing to deteriorate, the government has now imposed a veritable Internet lockdown to stifle financial transactions beyond the country's borders. Now, not only are its citizens forced to watch their savings vanish in a storm of hyperinflation, but their means of hedging their losses have also been cut off.

RowIT is still reporting 283 connections to the Bitcoin network originating in Belarus, down from the 671 reported in October.  Keep in mind that many more could be using lightweight clients or e-wallets, and are likely counting their blessings that they discovered Bitcoin.

Posted in: Belarus,hyperinflation