The Central Bank of Armenia is guided by the principle of “same risk, same regulation” when regulating digital and virtual assets. This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Hovhannes Khachatryan at the 4Future Banking forum in Yerevan. According to him, the regulator seeks to apply general risk management principles first and foremost to rapidly changing sectors.
This approach, Khachatryan noted, extends to the issuance of crypto assets, exchanges, and other services related to digital currencies. At the same time, the regulator faces criticism: market participants fear that excessive regulation could slow down the adoption of new technologies and the development of innovations.
The Central Bank believes that potential threats cannot be ignored either. Insufficient capitalization of large financial organizations, operational failures, and cybersecurity problems can undermine confidence in the financial system and ultimately harm innovations themselves. Therefore, Armenia intends to combine the development of the crypto market with the control of financial, operational, and cyber risks.