YEREVAN, April 17. /ARKA/. The National Assembly of Armenia has initiated discussions on a draft law concerning Crypto-Assets, along with amendments to several related regulations.
Armen Nurbekyan, the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, emphasized that this legislation marks an important first step towards regulating the crypto-assets sector in Armenia.
“This law will create new opportunities for delivering more efficient and quicker services. However, we’ve seen that there are significant risks involved, particularly regarding issues like money laundering and consumer protection.
Nurbekyan outlined several key services that will be subject to regulation, including the launch of trading platforms, the storage of crypto-assets, the issuance of asset-linked tokens (such as stablecoins), and the buying and selling of crypto-assets—both at the company’s own expense and on behalf of clients.
Additionally, services like accepting and transmitting transaction orders, managing crypto-asset portfolios, providing consulting on crypto-assets, and facilitating the transfer of crypto-assets will also be regulated.
Nurbekyan emphasized that all these services will require proper regulation and licensing, with defined access criteria for service providers.
The Central Bank has specified that the new law will introduce minimum capital requirements for companies looking to enter the market, along with rules mandating reporting on the protection of client funds and measures to prevent misconduct within the crypto-asset sector.
Companies will be required to maintain separate records concerning their services with crypto-assets, both for individual clients and their own funds, and to report to the Central Bank as well as to their clients.-0-
