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Starting January 1, 2026, a one-year option for cryptocurrency cash trading will operate in Armenia, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan said on Tuesday.
“Today, if I’m not mistaken, a regulatory legislative package for the transitional period will be presented to the parliament for a first reading, because, as you know, starting January 1, 2027, cash transactions in this sector will be banned. During the transitional period—from January 2026 to January 2027—we will allow crypto assets to be purchased with cash as well, up to 300,000 drams, on the condition that individuals buying or selling crypto are properly identified. This is a compromise solution,” he said.
Governor Galstyan emphasized that the Central Bank has always supported innovation in the sector.
“If we define what innovation is, I think you will see that we stand alongside it. Innovation is not the buying and selling of crypto assets. Innovation lies in the technologies behind it, in the underlying solutions. In that regard, I assure you, the Central Bank is always on the side of innovation. But if the discussion is exclusively about buying and selling crypto assets—whether for cash or non-cash—then, essentially, there is no element of innovation there,” Galstyan said.