Armenia doesn’t allow crypto payments, except for e-money

PanARMENIAN.Net - Crypto assets will not be permitted for use in payments within Armenia, according to Armen Nurbekyan, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, who spoke during a parliamentary committee session.

However, the proposed regulation includes one exception, as reported by Radar.am .

“The regulatory framework does not allow crypto assets to be used for payments in Armenia—except when they are classified as electronic money,” said Nurbekyan. “If a crypto asset functions as electronic money—meaning it operates via a decentralized technology but meets the criteria for e-money—then and only then can it be used as a payment tool. In all other cases, crypto will not be accepted as a means of payment.”

He added that while digital wallets already exist for such purposes, only those integrating qualifying crypto technologies could be considered legal for transactions.

Nurbekyan also noted that the Central Bank plans to create a payment infrastructure enabling crypto transactions, but only if they are automatically converted into the national currency. This initiative was discussed during the “Doing Digital” digital finance conference held in Yerevan.