YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. The digital infrastructure of the Armenian capital market has made significant progress in recent years, but the market still lacks a more robust regulatory and technological framework for the full development of new financial instruments.
In an interview with ARKA news agency, Eva Balasanyan, founder and managing partner of NABIX, discussed how the level of automation in Armenia’s financial sector is changing, what barriers are holding back the development of digital assets and tokenization, and what solutions could become the next growth hub.
ARKA – How do you assess the current maturity of the digital infrastructure of the Armenian capital market: what is already working, and what is still most lacking?
E. Balasanyan – Over the past three years, Armenia’s financial sector has come a long way. While participants recently operated entirely manually, today the level of automation among brokers, banks, and some infrastructure players has significantly increased. First, operational processes were automated, followed by front-end client processes. Therefore, the level of automation is much higher now than it was three years ago.
However, there’s still a long way to go, as not all infrastructure is directly accessible. This is the next important step for the market: ensuring direct integration with exchanges, data providers, and prime brokers. We already have basic integrations in place, including with a local exchange, allowing both financial companies and banks to trade on the Armenian Securities Exchange. This, in turn, will increase liquidity. Interest is high, and we’ve developed a ready-made solution to simplify integration as much as possible for financial market participants.
ARKA – What barriers currently hinder the development of digital bonds, tokenized instruments, and other new forms of capital raising in Armenia?
E. Balasanyan: The main barrier today is legislation and the overall regulatory environment. Armenia has already adopted a law on cryptoassets, and this is an important step forward. However, this is not yet sufficient for the market.
Because it’s one thing to establish a general framework, and quite another to create an environment in which new instruments can truly function as part of the financial system. The market needs clearer rules, practical mechanisms, and a working infrastructure around these rules.
As for tokenization, there are even more questions. It doesn’t yet have the comprehensive regulation that would give the market the confidence and the ability to move faster. Meanwhile, tokenization could become not just a new technological innovation for Armenia, but a real tool for attracting capital to the country.
Therefore, in my opinion, the next task is not simply the existence of a law, but the formation of a more mature and functional regulatory environment that will allow the market to move from discussions to real products and real investment opportunities. ARKA – Considering that bylaws are currently being developed to complement this law, what recommendations would you make to the regulator?
E. Balasanyan – The next important step for the market is not simply bylaws, but a permanent working framework between the regulator, the market, and the IT sector. This will allow for the legislation to be refined and improved so that financial market participants can operate more efficiently and develop the industry. Armenia has significant expertise, and it should be utilized. What’s important here is not one-time advice, but ongoing dialogue with the market and the professional community, which can help the country advance new capital raising instruments.
ARKA – What role do you see for the IT sector in this process?
E. Balasanyan – The IT sector should not be adjacent to this process, but rather integrated into it, because no financial market today functions without technology. Technology is the foundation, and it’s essential to understand the maturity of the digital infrastructure of financial market participants and have extensive international experience implementing similar projects in order to develop the right architecture for the country’s financial market.
ARKA – A question for the future: what single technological shift could most significantly change the Armenian capital market in the next 2-3 years?
E. Balasanyan – In my opinion, one of the most powerful next steps for the market is open APIs. This is a very powerful concept, but it also requires expertise.
Banks are already ready to build open APIs. If banks, brokers, and other financial institutions have open APIs, the market can transition to truly high-quality digital services. This is one factor that could become the next important stage in the development of financial technologies in our country.
The market already understands and is beginning to implement everything else, but the next step is to do this more efficiently and professionally. And here, it’s important to engage external expertise. Financial companies don’t always need to try to build everything themselves, especially in areas where the Armenian market hasn’t yet had its own experience. There are international practices, the experience of CIS countries, and companies that can bring this expertise to the market and help businesses and governments move faster and more efficiently.
The main question for Armenia today is not whether it needs new technologies. The main question is whether the country can transform them into a functioning market faster than others.
ARKA – Could a situation arise in Armenia where the market is hungry for modern solutions, but its size is not yet sufficient to quickly recoup such investments?
E. Balasanyan: The domestic market is small, and, unfortunately, financial market participants rarely serve the domestic market.
Our banks are already moving toward providing access to the Armenian stock exchange, increasing liquidity, and boosting volumes, but the population lacks financial literacy. If the Central Bank can take steps to improve financial literacy, this could increase investment in the domestic market.
Today, Armenia is, of course, largely dependent on foreign markets, but I am convinced that we must simultaneously develop the domestic market, improve financial literacy, and enhance the financial maturity of our market and society.
ARKA: Tell us about NABIX’s activities.
E. Balasanyan: NABIX is an IT company that builds infrastructure for banks, brokers, and government agencies. We have been collaborating with the largest banks and financial institutions in the CIS countries for over nine years, building large technology platforms. Now, bringing all this experience to Armenia, we’re using our microservices platform to automate brokerage and banking operations, including operational processes, customer services, exchange trading, and access to foreign financial instruments. We’ve also launched a project for the Yerevan City Hall, automating budgeting. We plan to promote this solution in other Armenian city halls. This is more of an infrastructure project than a commercial one. I view it as a contribution to the development of the city’s digital architecture and a foundation for further change.
