The beginning of 2026 was marked by tectonic changes in the structure of the cryptocurrency market. While retail investors are watching memecoins fluctuate, institutional players and large net worth holders (HNWI) are showing record activity in the over-the-counter (OTC) sector. According to the latest data, the trading volume of Binance’s OTC platform in the first two months of 2026 has already reached 25% of the total volume of the entire year of 2025.

OTC phenomenon: growth under pressure

The acceleration of OTC trade is taking place against a complex macroeconomic background. February 2026 was risk-off due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and corrections in the US technology sector due to concerns over artificial intelligence.

Interestingly, during this period, the fluctuations of traditional defensive assets, such as gold, exceeded the fluctuations of Bitcoin. This is a rare reversal of historical norms that underscores the depth of macroeconomic uncertainty. Under these conditions, institutional investors prefer OTC desks for the ability to conduct large transactions confidentially without significant impact on the market price.

Bitcoin: searching for the “floor” and strategic stacking

Despite the early February correction, when BTC tested the $60,000 level, experts note the formation of strong structural support in the $55,000 – $69,000 range.

Key OTC Desk Considerations: Tenfold increase in interest in BTC. Bitcoin’s share of total OTC trading volume increased from 4.91% in January to 45.81% in February.

Capital inflow: The volume of fiat and stablecoin cryptocurrency conversions more than doubled in one month, reaching almost 49% of all transactions.

Institutional optimism: The massive inflow of funds in spot BTC positions around the $60,000 level indicates that major players are viewing current prices as a profitable strategic entry point.

Technological efficiency and liquidity

The modern crypto market requires not only liquidity, but also high speed of execution of complex transactions. An important factor behind the growth was increased activity on the Ethereum network, where the number of daily transactions reached an all-time high following the Fusaka update and the growth of the Real Asset Tokenization (RWA) sector.

A demonstrative example was the conversion of Wrapped Beacon ETH (WBETH) to ETH in the amount of more than $105 million. If the standard withdrawal process would take 9 days, the OTC service completed the transaction in just 2 hours. At the same time, the strike price was 75% better than the expected slippage in the open market.

Conclusions for the market

The current dynamics show the maturity of the sector. Institutional demand is moving from simple speculation to in-depth portfolio management that requires professional tools (eg RFQ and IOI).

The fact that BTC is holding in the $71,000 – $78,000 range amid global turmoil, as well as aggressive accumulation in OTC channels, may indicate the end of the correction phase and the start of a new phase of growth.
In 2026, the main advantage of large investors becomes not just the possession of assets, but access to deep liquidity pools and flexible settlement mechanisms.

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The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science informs that the deadline for submission of documents for deferment of compulsory military service for activities in the fields of education, culture and sports is April 30, 2026. This is reported by KGSMN.

In accordance with the requirements of the RA Government’s decisions N 450-N, N 451-N and N 457-N of April 12, 2018, citizens with significant achievements in the fields of science and education, culture and sports can apply to the Ministry of Education and Culture from April 1 to May 1, 2026 to receive a deferment from compulsory military service.

The citizen or his representative (in the case of a representative, a power of attorney is also submitted) must submit the application (according to the submitted form) and the originals or copies of the necessary documents in accordance with the requirements of the decisions of the RA Government of April 12, 2018 N 450-Н, N 451-Н and N 457-Н to the e-mail [email protected].

In order to increase the efficiency of the administration of the extension process, we suggest, if possible, to submit the application and the attached documents in a digital, electronic version.

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The RA government has approved large-scale changes to the state housing program for families forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, significantly simplifying the conditions of support and increasing the amount of funding for a number of communities.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the decision is aimed at the prompt solution of the problems that appeared in the legal practice. As explained by the Minister of ASR, Arsen Torosyan, one of the key innovations is to recognize children born before the end of 2026 as full beneficiaries of the program, regardless of the application submission dates. In addition, the bureaucratic process has been radically simplified. previously denied citizens will automatically receive beneficiary status if state bases certify that they worked or studied in Karabakh for at least one year between September 2020 and December 2022.

The financial mechanisms of the project have also become more flexible. From now on, the state support covers not only the classic mortgage, but also consumer loans secured by real estate taken until July 2025 for the purpose of refinancing housing loans. The rules for the use of residual funds were also revised. the purchase of furniture and appliances can now be carried out by direct transfer to the seller, based on an expanded list of tax documents.

Significant changes have been made in the financial geography of the project. About 150 communities adjacent to Yerevan have been moved to a higher support group. the payments there increased from three to four million drams per person. Thus, the three million dram certificate will be valid only in the capital, five million drams in the separate border zones, and in all other marzes the amount will be four million drams. Out of 5,232 housing certificates provided, 2,336 have already been successfully used for the purpose of buying or building new houses.

The mass deportation of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh took place in the fall of 2023. On September 19, Azerbaijan started a large-scale military operation in the region, which ended a day later with the agreement of a ceasefire and the disarmament of local self-defense forces. Due to security reasons, more than 100 thousand people, almost the entire ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh, left their homes through the Lachin Corridor and moved to Armenia within a few days. Soon, the leadership of the unrecognized republic signed a decree on the termination of its existence. In order to accommodate and integrate forcibly displaced people, the Armenian government launched a number of state initiatives, including the aforementioned housing program.

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted signs of stagnation in the anti-corruption fight. Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the current results, the head of the government called for more decisive and systematic reforms, including at the level of local self-government.

During the briefing following the government session on March 26, Pashinyan emphasized that despite the significant progress recorded by international reports since 2018, alarming signs of stagnation have recently been observed. According to him, these indicators first of all testify to the need to continue the process of reforms. As an example of a systemic approach, the prime minister cited the introduction of a performance-based remuneration system, which, according to him, is a step leading to more decisive changes.

The head of the executive also pointed out the urgent need to root the “zero corruption” policy at the local government level. Pashinyan noted that although this issue was raised by him earlier, it remains unresolved until now. Admitting his disappointment with the current indicators, the Prime Minister added that while analyzing the causes of the created situation, he comes to the conclusion that sometimes the necessary political determination is not enough to advance the reforms. He concluded his speech with a call to demonstrate maximum consistency and uncompromising attitude in this matter.

The Prime Minister’s statements are directly consistent with the current assessments of international institutions. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published annually by Transparency International, after a noticeable increase in the first years following the 2018 change of government, Armenia’s indicators have really stagnated in the last few years, ranging from 46-47 points out of a possible 100. International experts attribute this stop to the weak practical implementation of already adopted anti-corruption strategies, and also emphasize the need to further strengthen the real independence and effectiveness of the judicial system and law enforcement agencies.

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Sargis Khandanyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the RA National Assembly, was appointed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office as the head of the international observation mission for the parliamentary elections to be held in Hungary. As a special coordinator and head of the mission, Sargis Khandanyan will coordinate the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, PACE and OSCE/ODIHR short-term observation missions.

During his working visit to the capital of Hungary on March 24-26, Sargis Khandanyan had meetings with state institutions involved in the electoral process in Hungary, political parties participating in the elections, representatives of the Hungarian Parliament and Government, civil society and media representatives, as well as the OSCE/ODIHR team carrying out a long-term observation mission.

During the meetings, Sargis Khandanyan got acquainted with the preparations for the elections and the course of the campaign.

Parliamentary elections in Hungary will take place on April 12.

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The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has expressed readiness to hold double referendums if the citizens do not approve the draft of the new Constitution at the first attempt. The main goal of the reform is to abandon the reference to the Declaration of Independence and the concept of “historical justice”, which, according to the head of government, is vital for the preservation of statehood in the face of current geopolitical challenges.

During the government briefing held on March 26, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the ruling power will manage to explain and convince the public of the need for these changes. Pashinyan emphasized that the authorities are ready for an open and honest dialogue with the people, acting as their legitimate representatives. He considered the need to remove the reference to the Declaration of Independence of Armenia from the preamble as the main argument for the adoption of the new Basic Law.

According to the politician, the orientation towards the restoration of “historical justice”, which includes strategies regarding Western Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, is equivalent to formulating the problem of the destruction of the Republic of Armenia. The head of the executive called to strive for a “just reality”, noting that running after historical justice only creates new injustices and conflicts. He also added that only the elected Prime Minister of RA has the exclusive right to speak on behalf of the people.

The process of preparing the document has already entered the practical stage. as early as March 16, officials announced that the draft text of the new Constitution was completely ready and forwarded to the ruling “Civil Pact” party for consideration. Discussions on constitutional reforms have been going on in Armenia since 2018, but now they have received a completely new context in the light of foreign political pressures.

Official Baku claims that the current Constitution of Armenia contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan, as it refers to the Declaration of Independence of 1990, which in turn mentions the decision on the reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region. The Azerbaijani side regularly emphasizes that the amendment of the Armenian Basic Law is the main condition for signing the bilateral peace treaty.

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan categorically denied the accusations that he alone and without taking into account the opinion of the people of Nagorno Karabakh will decide the fate of the region. The head of the government emphasized that all key decisions were taken exclusively after detailed consultations with Karabakh representatives. He also commented on the scandalous video with the participation of his former party member and answered questions about the current national security strategy.

In the briefing following the government session on March 26, the journalists touched on a number of acute topics. Answering the question of how he could make fatal decisions regarding Karabakh without representing the interests of its people, Pashinyan stated: “Basically, all the decisions I made before were consulted with the representatives of Karabakh. There was no such decision that I made without consulting the representatives of Karabakh.” At the same time, the prime minister distanced himself from the recent decisions of the authorities of the unrecognized republic, stating that he learned about them later and emphasizing the absence of Armenia’s role in those processes.

Speaking about the Prague agreements of 2022, Pashinyan described as absurd the situation when Armenia had to recognize its territorial integrity. According to him, this decision has become the most important step on the way to overcome the “greatest conspiracy against the statehood of Armenia”.

The Prime Minister also commented on the publication of a video recording of the meeting of the “Civil Contract” party’s board in pro-government media, where he communicates in a harsh style with Hakob Aslanyan, a former member of the team. The journalists asked if this is not a message to the teammates that there are kompromats and the government is ready to use them. Pashinyan denied these assumptions, calling the publication a manifestation of intra-party democracy. “Democracy is for this purpose, to show the stupidity among them,” he said, emphasizing the transparency and competitive nature of the processes within the ruling power.

At the end of the briefing Nikol Pashinyan admitted that the current national security strategy of Armenia has largely lost its relevance. He informed that currently the country does not actually have an effective strategy, but the government is already working on the creation of a document that meets the new, modern challenges.

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Do not transfer your money to other accounts through fake phone calls made on behalf of law enforcement agencies. This is being urged by the Cyber ​​Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“Recently, cases of fraud have become frequent, when unknown persons call or send messages (via WhatsApp, Viber and other platforms) pretending to be employees of the National Security Service, the Central Bank or various banks. Under various pretexts, they try to convince you to withdraw money from your bank accounts and transfer them to the accounts provided by them, often also in the form of crypto-assets.

Do not trust such calls or messages. If you receive such a call, immediately stop the conversation and contact the police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Remember, no government agency or bank ever requires you to transfer your money to other accounts by phone. Vigilance is your best defense,” the message reads.

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On May 28, the Republic Day, the Armenian government will organize a public exhibition of recently acquired military equipment in the capital’s main square. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the upcoming event not as a traditional military parade, but a unique public report to the citizens, while emphasizing the immutability of the country’s peace agenda.

In a briefing with journalists after the government meeting on March 26, the head of the executive confirmed that the final decision on the exhibition has already been made. Aware of the diplomatic subtlety of similar military reviews, Pashinyan emphasized that the Armenian leadership is actively engaged in explanatory work with international and regional partners. The main purpose of these contacts is to exclude any misunderstanding and not to allow the event to be interpreted as a rejection of the peace process by Yerevan.

The decision to hold a mass demonstration in the Republic Square replaces the initiative put forward earlier, which planned to pre-queue citizens to see the new arsenal. The prime minister explained that the unprecedented demand and the huge number of applications made the original plan unfeasible from a logistical point of view, and also created risks of spreading misinformation about the country’s modern defense capabilities. Announcing the scale of the upcoming event, Pashinyan expressed confidence that the display of modernized weapons will be a truly spectacular sight. For residents of Armenia.

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