Finance ministers from the world’s 20 largest economies say they’re cautiously optimistic about the impact cryptocurrency can have on the world economy.
A new report from the G20’s ongoing meeting in Argentina states that “technological innovations, including those underlying crypto-assets, can deliver significant benefits to the financial system and the broader economy.”
The report also highlights the Wild West nature and volatility of the market, noting that cryptocurrencies “do, however, raise issues with respect to consumer and investor protection, market integrity, tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing.”
As for what benefits cryptocurrencies may bring to the financial markets, the finance ministers do not elaborate. They do, however, point out that the cryptocurrencies, which are decentralized, “lack the key attributes of sovereign currencies.”
The G20 says it will continue to study the long-term impact of crypto on the world’s economy, and says it will actively monitor developments in the cryptocurrency space.
“While crypto-assets do not at this point pose a global financial stability risk, we remain vigilant. We welcome updates by the FSB and the SSBs and look forward to their future work to monitor the potential risks of crypto-assets, and to assess multilateral responses as needed. We reiterate our March commitments related to the implementation of the FAFT standards and we ask the FAFT to clarity in Octover 2018 how its standards apply to crypto-assets.”
Back in March, G20 leaders agreed to gather more information on the impact of cryptocurrencies before considering any potential regulations.
