From July 1, 2026, consumers will have the opportunity to block financial transactions carried out online with one touch on their own initiative, through mobile banking and the organization’s website. For example, it will be possible to block online loan processing, online withdrawals from a deposit or savings account, as well as other online operations with mobile banking. Unblocking will be carried out exclusively after the identification and identity verification of the consumer.  This is reported by the Central Bank.

The tool will enable consumers to better manage the financial operations carried out on their behalf and be better protected against fraud.

Before financial organizations launch the tool, the Central Bank will additionally inform and remind consumers about the procedure and possibilities of its application.

Details of the regulation in Regulation 8/09 “Minimum requirements for the introduction of self-limiting tools by consumers in financial services”.

After July 1, the availability of the tool is mandatory for banks, foreign bank branches, credit organizations, payment settlement organizations that perform money transfers and provide financial services remotely.

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After successfully recruiting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to neutralize the Armenian Diaspora, which is their last step to conquer Armenia. Both Aliyev and Erdogan are pleased with the submissive regime in Armenia and do not want the Diaspora to stand in the way of their anti-Armenian plans.

On March 2, 2026, the London-based public relations (PR) firm Apollo Strategic Communications (ASC) attacked the Armenian National Association of America (ANCA) by sending a secret memo to the American media titled “Armenian Diaspora Voices Russia’s Interests on Capitol Hill.” ASC has ties with Azerbaijan and its Caspian oil partners. The company is registered with the UK Chamber of Companies as a “public relations and communications company”. In recent years, it has changed its name several times: Apollo Public Relations Limited (13 August 2009 – 29 August 2014) and Red Public Relations Limited (14 April 2008 – 13 August 2009).

In its memo, ASC spreads falsehoods and misinformation, claiming that “the US administration’s efforts [in Armenia] … are facing resistance and opposition from the influential Armenian National Committee of America, the largest Armenian organization in the United States, which, according to some circles on Capitol Hill, is trying to derail the peace process in Congress.” ANCA is accused of collaborating with pro-Moscow forces while acting against Armenia’s national interests, supporting Russian positions and spreading disinformation, often literally, into the heart of the American establishment.” The memorandum condemns “high-ranking ANCA officials for their passionate defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church”. The Armenian National Committee and the Diaspora are against false peace, not real peace, and they are not against the national interests of Armenia. On the contrary, they want to protect Armenia from Pashinyan’s endless concessions to Aliyev, which could lead to the destruction of the motherland.

I would like to highlight several problematic aspects of the ASC memorandum.

1. Election period. the memo makes a direct reference to “the most important general elections in Armenia”, implying that Azerbaijan and Turkey are doing everything possible to ensure that Prime Minister Pashinyan remains in power after the June 7 parliamentary elections.

2. Unusual choice of PR tool. Azerbaijan pays millions of dollars to Washington-based public relations and lobbying firms. However, it is strange that this questioning article is distributed in the American media by a London company, and not by Washington-based companies, to which Azerbaijan pays large sums of money every year for lobbying and PR. This is a waste of money and a slap in the face to PR companies hired by Azerbaijan in Washington.

3. Sources recommended by ASC to journalists. The ASC proposed the names of four individuals who “will be happy to provide additional materials and information.”

– Anonymous senior staff member at the US Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Congressional Committee). ANCA needs to find out if this person is receiving payments from any foreign company with ties to Azerbaijan while working in Congress. If so, then he should be fired.

– “Maria Karapetyan, deputy of the ruling “Civil Contract” party of Armenia and member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.” Maria should be interrogated if she cooperated with a foreign lobbying company against an Armenian organization, receiving possible compensation in return.

– “Nzhdeh Hovsepyan, a respected intellectual and historian, who can talk about the brotherhood between the Armenian Dat Committee and the pro-Russian Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in Armenia, as well as the existing ties between the ARF and Russia.” He listed several positions he held in Pashinyan’s government on his LinkedIn page.

– “Garo Paylan, invited researcher of the European Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who is ready to speak anonymously about Armenian politics, Russian intervention actions, as well as ANCA’s ties with pro-Moscow actors.” Paylan, a former member of the Turkish Parliament, contradicted the ASC when he wrote on the X platform: “My attention was drawn to the fact that messages about Armenia were sent to journalists on my behalf, which I did not authorize. I speak publicly and communicate with journalists, and my opinions are widely known.”

4. Potential Violation of FARA. The ASC memo was sent to the US media by a British PR firm, not an American one, possibly in an attempt to circumvent the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires companies acting on behalf of foreigners in the US to register with the Department of Justice. This may be considered a violation of US law.

5. Lack of response from ASC. last week I sent several emails to ASC asking the company to provide more information on ANCA as promised in the memorandum, but ASC did not respond. Such unprofessional behavior can only result in negative PR for the PR firm itself.

6. Trade relations with Azerbaijan. Apollo’s parent company, RSK Group, has a wholly owned company, Azerbaijan Environment and Technology Center Ltd (AETC), which operates domestically and implements projects in the Caspian region, which is evidence of its long-term commercial activities in Azerbaijan.

The Armenian Committee of America should consider filing a lawsuit against ASC for spreading false and defamatory statements about the organization.

Harut Sassounyan

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Translation: Ruzanna Avagyan

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I DON’T WANT TO BE A TURKEY DOG

The biggest enemy of these authorities is Russia. Handzi Samvel Karapetyan’s CP sees a Russian agent. There are two forces involved in interfering in the Armenian elections in our region. It is Turkey and Russia. What the authorities are saying about Western orientation is a lie, there is no such thing. The West urges the CPSU authorities in every possible way to make concessions for the sake of the interests of Turkey and Azerbaijan. The West is present in the focus of our region in the form of Turkey. The West does not care about Armenia. His ultimate interest is to drive the Russians out of this region. In fact, they see Armenia in the South Caucasus as a unique slippery soap on which Russia stands. Russia’s interest in this region requires the opposite of what Turkey dictates, relying on the West. In other words, to give a boost to Armenian identity, national dignity, economic and military strength, inviolability of borders and security of the country. He is inclined to all this not only because of his love for the Armenian people, but also because of his interest in protecting the emperor, so that a reliable barrier can protect against the danger in the South Caucasus. A circumstance that is consistent with the national interests of the Republic of Armenia.

I will vote for Samvel Karapetyan.

I prefer to be a Russian “agent” than to become Turkey’s dog…

Levon Javakhyan

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On March 11, a cargo train consisting of 11 wagons carrying Russian grain left from Balajar station through Georgia to Armenia. This is reported by the Azerbaijani media.

The total weight of the cargo is 1023 tons. The train will move to Georgia through the Boyuk-Kyasik station, and then continue its way to Armenia.

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In February 2026, the cryptocurrency market went through one of the most tense phases in recent months. Pressure from macroeconomic factors, reduced risk appetite and high market leverage led to a marked deterioration in investor sentiment. According to a report by Binance Research, the market sentiment index was in the “extreme fear” zone throughout the month, reflecting the caution of market participants and a gradual cooling after previous bullish phases.

Analysts note that the acceleration of the decline in February is largely related to macroeconomic uncertainty. Markets continue to consider several risk factors simultaneously: changes in monetary policy, trade restrictions and global geopolitical tensions. At the same time, the report emphasizes that the market has already partially priced these risks. Under these conditions, inflows of institutional investments through bitcoin spot ETFs can become a possible source of new growth.

The research also pays special attention to the influence of the technological sector. Large-scale sell-offs in software and artificial intelligence-related companies have indirectly pressured the crypto market as well. As many institutional investors view Bitcoin as an asset linked to the technology sector, the correction in software company stocks has also led to additional BTC selling.

However, fundamentals remain relatively stable. Analysts estimate that the software sector is still showing around 14% year-over-year earnings growth, and current valuations for technology companies have already been revised down significantly. If tensions around the topic of artificial intelligence and questions about the profitability of software companies subside, the pressure on cryptoassets may also ease.

One of the interesting trends in recent months has been the redistribution of capital within the crypto ecosystem. The N7 index, which tracks a basket of NeoFi protocols, is up about 3.5% year-to-date, significantly outperforming Bitcoin and a number of major DeFi assets. This shows a change in investor preferences. more and more attention is paid to projects that have sustainable sources of income and real economic models, rather than protocols whose value is mainly built on token management mechanisms.

Prediction markets have become another direction of development. After the phase of rapid growth, this sector begins to pass into a phase of more stable development, which is facilitated by the gradual formation of regulatory frameworks. At the same time, the functionality of the platforms is also expanding. In addition to dual outcomes, tools for assessing public sentiment and trading expectations are emerging, bringing such services closer to full financial markets.

From a technological point of view, important changes are also taking place in the Ethereum ecosystem. The development of zk-virtual machines and network scaling are gradually changing the role of second layer solutions. If previously the main narrative was built around speeding up and cheapening transactions, now analysts are more often discussing the redistribution of activity between the L1 and L2 layers.
According to the report, the ratio of L2 to L1 daily active users has declined from a peak of 10.43 in June 2025 to around 1.12 in February 2026, a year-on-year decline of nearly 68%.

In general, these processes indicate that the crypto market is entering a phase of structural transformation. Volatility remains high, but the main changes are not so much in prices as in which models and technologies begin to attract capital.

The full version of Binance Research’s report can be viewed at the appropriate link.

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