G20 Leaders Agree to Work on Crypto Assets Regulation
The G20 leaders have agreed to develop a regulatory framework for digital assets, bringing rules in line with FATF standards.
The G20 leaders have agreed to develop a regulatory framework for digital assets, bringing rules in line with FATF standards.
All G20 leaders signed a joint declaration on Saturday following their summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, pledging, among other things, to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in accordance with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.
During the previous summit in July 2018, the group postponed the decision on anti-money laundering measures related to cryptocurrencies until the results of the FATF standards review were received.
At their latest gathering, the G20 leaders acknowledged the necessity of deploying all available political tools to promote global growth, paying special attention to cryptocurrencies and the “digitalization" of the global economy.
The declaration states that digital assets regulation is intended to support "an open and resilient financial system, grounded in agreed international standards," which is, in turn, necessary for sustainable economic growth.
To achieve this, the politicians have agreed to create a crypto regulatory policy compliant with the standards of FATF, an inter-governmental body created in 1989 to set and promote standards for dealing with money laundering, terrorist financing, and other issues that pose a threat to the global financial system.
"We will step up efforts to ensure that the potential benefits of technology in the financial sector can be realized while risks are mitigated. We will regulate crypto-assets for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in line with FATF standards, and we will consider other responses as needed," Section 25 of the declaration states.
Without specifically referencing cryptocurrencies, Section 26 points to the need for developing an advanced and uniform taxation system to address issues arising from the increasingly digital nature of the global economy.
"We will continue our work for a globally fair, sustainable, and modern international tax system … We will continue to work together to seek a consensus-based solution to address the impacts of the digitalization of the economy on the international tax system," the signatories say.
The G20 leaders promised to work on these issues individually and provide an update at next year’s summit in Japan. A final report is expected in 2020.