Japan is reportedly set to urge its G20 counterparts to bolster is efforts in order to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for money laundering.
Policymakers in Japan are concerned that some countries have less stringent rules when it comes to preventing money laundering via digital tokens according to CNBC, which cited a government official with direct knowledge of the matter.
Central bankers and finance ministers from the G20, which is the group of twenty major economies around the world, are scheduled to meet on March 19 and March 20 in Buenos Aires. Cryptocurrencies is expected to be a topic of the two-day meeting according to CNBC.
“Discussions will focus on anti-money laundering steps and consumer protection, rather than how cryptocurrency trading could affect the banking system,” one of the officials told CNBC. “The general feeling among the G20 members is that applying too stringent regulations won’t be good.”
However, the finance leaders from the G20 are unlikely to come up with global rules for governing cryptocurrencies, with each country taking a different approach to regulating the market, the official added.
Earlier this year, Japan’s cryptocurrency industry was reported to be preparing to establish a self-regulatory body. A group of Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges are uniting to create a self-regulating body following the Coincheck hack, which saw $533m-worth of NEM tokens stolen. Sixteen registered virtual currency marketplace operators and executives from some unregistered ones attended a closed meeting in Tokyo last month to discuss the new organisation.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) also announced its intention to regulate some ICOs either under anti-money laundering laws or as securities. Having seen a sharp increase in the number of initial coin offerings (ICOs) planned or executed in Switzerland, FINMA is publishing guidelines, which complement its earlier FINMA Guidance 04/2017, setting out how it intends to treat enquiries from ICO organisers.
While in the UK, the Treasury Committee recently launched an inquiry into unregulated digital currencies and distributed ledger technology. The inquiry came just days after seven cryptocurrency companies formed a UK cryptocurrency trade body, bringing the first self-regulation to the industry. CryptoUK is expected to look to promote the development and recognition of digital currency technologies in the UK.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
