‘Govt Moving Towards Crypto Regulation Under India’s G20 Presidency’, Says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asserted that the government is moving towards cryptocurrency regulation under India’s G20 presidency.

She said the grouping will look forward to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Financial Stability Board (FSB) synthesis papers on crypto assets.

At the 1st G20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ (FMCBG) meeting in Bengaluru, while addressing the media, Nirmala Sitharaman spoke on the consensus among the G20 countries on crypto assets during Indian Presidency. “We are going through the study process so that there can be informed discussion. International Monetary Fund (IMF) and also the Financial Stability Board (FSB) have been doing their own little work on the crypto matter and progressing on their own,” she said.

“We have now asked them to do the papers and give them to us. With the rapidity with which these papers have been already from IMF given and from FSB which will be given in time for the July meeting, I feel that we are progressing in this direction. So something should develop… Recognising the risks attached to the private virtual assets, G20 nations moved a step closer to developing a coordinated and comprehensive policy approach to deal with the crypto assets by considering macroeconomic and regulatory perspectives,” she added.

‘There’s a clear understanding that anything outside the central bank is not a currency’: Sitharaman

After the conclusion of the 2-day meeting of FMCBG in Bengaluru on Saturday, Sitharaman said that there is a clear understanding that anything outside the central bank is not currency.

“I am glad to say one thing that there is almost a clear understanding that anything outside the central bank is not a currency. And this is a position that India has been taking for a very long time and we are glad that such a position of India is now getting also acknowledgement from so many different members. People recognise that the technology is very useful for fintech,” the Union Finance Minister said.

Reserve Bank of India’s Governor Shaktikanta Das also spoke on the cryptocurrency issue and said that crypto assets involve several major risks to financial stability, to monetary systems and to cyber security issues, and “they need to be looked at”.

“The IMF and the Financial Stability Board are working on it. There will be a synthesis paper between the FSB and the IMF on this whole issue. And they will form the basis for future discussions to develop an international architecture,” Das said.

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