India is looking to lead discussions on crypto assets during its ongoing presidency of the G20 leadership. India will hold discussions on a unified regulatory policy framework toward crypto assets.
This move came after G20 members expressed concerns over the lack of governance structures around the crypto asset universe. The members have also stressed the need for common taxonomy and a systematic classification of the crypto asset universe.
The country has asked for a joint technical paper from the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the macroeconomic and regulatory perspectives of crypto-assets. The paper will be presented during the fourth Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, which is set to be held in October 2023.
The FMCBG meetings will see attendance from delegates of the 19 member countries, the European Union, and various international organisations. The meetings will help in setting the final agendas for the G20 Finance Track for 2023.
India has already asked the IMF to present a discussion paper, which was the topic for the 2nd G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) Meeting. The meeting was held in Bengaluru on February 23, 2023. IMF’s Tommaso Mancini-Griffolia presented a paper on the effects that crypto assets can have on broader financial systems. The paper was presented during the seminar titled “Policy Perspectives: Debating the Road to Policy Consensus on Crypto Assets”. Mancini-Griffolia highlighted the potential dangers of crypto adoption on a country’s financial systems but also discussed the potential benefits like cheaper and faster cross-border payments, increased financial inclusion, better integrated financial markets and more.
Some of the other panellists included Eswar Prasad from Cornell University, Hyun Shin, from the BIS and Hilary Allen from American University among others. They presented that despite its claims of decentralisation, crypto assets are inherently highly centralised due to the nature of crypto platforms. Who argued about the highly centralised nature of the crypto universe despite claiming to be a decentralised platform.
Whether crypto assets are viable enough to help solve global financial problems present in the current system was also discussed.