Finance ministers to urge monitoring of crypto-assets

The world’s financial leaders will call on international standard-setting bodies on Tuesday for stronger monitoring of crypto-assets and to assess the need for a multilateral response, as such assets could at some point threaten financial stability.

The call appears in a draft communique prepared for the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s 20 biggest economies in Buenos Aires tomorrow and Tuesday.

The financial leaders will say the technological innovation behind cryptocurrencies has the potential to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of the financial system.

“Cryptocurrencies, however, raise issues with respect to consumer and investor protection, tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing. At some point they could have financial stability implications,” the draft communique says.

“We agree that international standard-setting bodies strengthen their monitoring of crypto-assets and their risks... and assess whether multilateral responses may be needed.”

Regulators globally have raised the alarm over cryptocurrencies, saying they may aid money laundering and terrorist financing, hurt consumers and undermine trust in the global financial system.

Japan was the first country to adopt a national system to oversee cryptocurrency trading. It carried out checks on several exchanges this year after the theft of $530 million from one exchange, Coincheck, in January. France and Germany have said they will make joint proposals to regulate the Bitcoin market. The head of the European Union’s watchdog said a short-term strategy could be to focus on applying anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules, warning consumers of the risk of trading in cryptocurrencies and preventing banks from holding them.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said last week that many online trading platforms for cryptocurrencies should be registered with the regulator and subject to additional rules, in a further sign regulators are cracking down on the digital currency sector.

In a statement, the SEC said these “potentially unlawful” platforms may be giving investors an unearned sense of safety by labelling themselves as “exchanges”.

The regulator said these platforms need to register with the SEC as a regulated national securities exchange or as an alternate trading system, or ATS. Virtual currencies have existed for years, but speculation in them has recently ballooned – along with scams promising investors returns of over 1,000 per cent in weeks. In a time of volatile markets, hackers are also active in the sector.

Bitcoin, the best known virtual currency, lost over half its value earlier this year after surging more than 1,300 per cent last year.