Financial ministers and central bankers from the G20 states met over the weekend in Argentina to discuss the challenges for the global economy. They reiterated their position that cryptocurrencies do not pose a risk to the financial stability. The officials also called on the Financial Action Task Force to clarify by October how its anti-money laundering standards apply to crypto-assets.
Also read: Ukraine’s Financial Stability Council Supports Crypto Regulatory Concept
Reiterated: Cryptocurrencies Not a Risk to Stability
The representatives of the G20 member-states said in a communique released after the meetings on July 21-22 that growth remains robust and unemployment is at a decade low. However, they also noted the need to strengthen the dialog and adopt measures to mitigate the risks for economic development like “rising financial vulnerabilities, heightened trade and geopolitical tensions, global imbalances, inequality and structurally weak growth.”
The statement does mention cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets as they are called, but not among the risks that need to be addressed immediately. “While crypto-assets do not at this point pose a global financial stability risk, we remain vigilant,” the government officials stated. G20 members also issued a warning that sounds familiar – cryptos “raise issues with respect to consumer and investor protection, market integrity, tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing.”
Ministers and bankers didn’t miss the chance to point out, not for the first time, that crypto-assets, “lack the key attributes of sovereign money.” And, of course, they didn’t skip another favorite talking point of governments and regulators – “technological innovations, including those underlying crypto-assets, can deliver significant benefits to the financial system and the broader economy,” a confession that’s not really a concession.
G20 Wants AML Crypto Standard in October
The participants in the meeting reiterated
