The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan has begun the initial assessment of applications to participate in its special regulatory regime, after receiving 14 submissions at the end of the first phase. The applications relate to testing innovative products in virtual assets, lending, insurance and other areas of the financial markets. The next stage envisages a full review and final assessment of compliance with the regime’s requirements, followed by a final decision. Under the regime, participants will test innovative financial products in a limited setting under central bank supervision on the basis of a contract, with products that meet the criteria and complete testing successfully expected to be rolled out in the market.