Armenia is witnessing an active and uncontrolled cashing out of cryptocurrency, raising serious concerns among lawmakers. This issue was brought up on October 1 in the country’s parliament, where a deputy addressed a query to Levon Saakyan, a member of the Central Bank's board, regarding the regulator’s policy on the cryptocurrency market.
The deputy pointed out that in Armenia, no documentation is required for cashing out cryptocurrency, allowing for large transactions to be conducted without proper oversight. This poses problems in the context of the planned transition to a universal income declaration system and could potentially encourage criminal activities, as reported by ArmInfo.
In response, Levon Saakyan outlined the Central Bank’s approach to digital assets, though his explanation was perceived as incoherent. He mentioned that the Central Bank has an initiative to propose a draft law on financial assets, which will be submitted to parliament in collaboration with a legislative initiative from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Saakyan explained that these initiatives would require cryptocurrency transactions to be conducted in non-cash form at the final stage, which should eliminate anonymity and ensure the identification of transaction participants. This would apply to both individuals and legal entities.
However, the deputy expressed dissatisfaction with the response, highlighting the ongoing issue of uncontrolled cryptocurrency cashing, which he described as a "classic example of money laundering." In response, Saakyan reiterated the provisions about the non-cash form of transactions, adding that the Central Bank is considering the associated risks and is attempting to balance them with regulation, though he provided no specific details.
Earlier, BMG reported that the Central Bank of Armenia had launched initiatives to develop and implement an effective model for comprehensive oversight and regulation of virtual assets.
As Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan previously stated, for effective regulation, the Central Bank will follow the principle of "same activities, same risks, same regulation," under which virtual asset service providers should be regulated in the same way as traditional financial operations.
