ArmInfo.In Armenia, the uncontrolled cashing of cryptocurrency in large volumes creates serious problems and stimulates crime, while the Central Bank's policy for regulating the cryptocurrency market is not known. On October 1, one of the MPs posed this question to Levon Sahakyan, a member of the Central Bank Council who was re-elected to this position.
In particular, the MP noted that the cryptocurrency market has been actively developing recently. He focused on the fact that currently in Armenia no documents are required when cashing out cryptocurrency, which allows large sums to be cashed out uncontrollably. "If we are moving towards a universal income declaration, then such behavior in the cryptocurrency market creates serious problems," he noted. The MP asked the representative of the Central Bank about the steps the regulator is taking regarding exchange offices and if there are any specific solutions in place. Central Bank Council member Levon Sahakyan began to explain the Central Bank's stance on digital assets. He used a completely absurd example to illustrate his point: "If such an asset closely resembles securities or financial products, then it falls under the cryptography category in terms of technology. In such cases, the Central Bank's approach implies that such financial assets should be regulated based on their essence, rather than their technological aspect."
Sahakyan, however, added that in a broad sense, the regulatory field of a financial asset like cryptocurrency should be controlled: "The Central Bank has an initiative bill on financial assets, and we intend to submit this document to parliament along with the legislative initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." He explained that these two initiatives propose that transactions involving financial assets such as cryptocurrency be conducted without cash at the final stage, which involves a specific identification process. As a result, the non-cash form of these transactions will eliminate anonymity for both individuals and legal entities.
The deputy did not calm down and brought to the attention of the Central Bank representative the current situation with uncontrolled cashing of cryptocurrency. It is such that it is not known where the funds came from or where they went. This can be called a classic example of money laundering. In response, Saakyan repeated that the bill allows for non-cash transactions with cryptocurrency. "The Central Bank is considering the associated risks on one hand, while also attempting to balance the possibilities through regulation," Sahakyan added without saying anything specific.
