In 2023 a short and straightforward overview of crypto regulations in the country has been provided by the Minister of Finance in an interview (3):
“There is no regulation now, which means that everything is possible. In Armenia, you can cash in cryptocurrency, fund your account, and carry out all transactions. Mining is also not regulated in any way now. We are working on this issue to create a legislative basis for regulating cryptocurrency transactions”.
In 2022, the Armenian Tax Service publicly asked (4) the Central Bank of Armenia to create a cryptocurrency regulation system so that residents would not evade taxes by using cryptocurrencies.
However, in 2024 Armenia started to harmonize its legislation in the field of virtual assets with European Union. The Tax Authority has prepared crypto tax reporting framework and the Central Bank created (5) licensing requirements for VASPs. It will be the main regulator of crypto companies in Armenia. In October 2024 local Parliament debated the law. However, the regulations will go in power in 2026 only.
In the CIS, Armenia is one of the leaders in the number of cryptocurrency exchange points. The exchange of cryptocurrencies here is a gray area, but at the same time, it is not prohibited. Based on CoinATM Radar (6), there are 13 crypto ATMs in Yerevan. The amount of crypto exchange points is much bigger, and the exchange fee is about 1%.