Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called in her speech to the International Monetary Fund for a global framework on cryptocurrencies to control their use in illicit activities.
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Sithraman’s comments came during the “Money at the Crossroads” roundtable organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington on Monday. Also participating in the round table Kristalina Georgiev, managing director of the IMF, Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, and Ravi Mennon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Indian minister called for the support of world leaders to come together and formulate a comprehensive regulation on cryptocurrencies to mitigate the risks of terrorist financing and money laundering.
“I think regulation through technology is the only answer. Regulation through technology is going to have to be so clever, that it doesn’t have to be behind the curve, but make sure it’s on top of it. And that’s not possible. If a single country thinks it can handle it. It has to be across the board.”
During his speech, Sithraman also raised concerns about non-hosted crypto wallets used for international remittances and the fact that they could pose a significant risk when assessing the flow of money out of a nation.
Amid Sithraman’s call for a global framework for cryptocurrencies, Indian businessmen in his country have been demanding crypto regulations for almost four years. Despite this, the Indian government has introduced a highly controversial cryptocurrency tax law of 30% without offering any clarity on the future of crypto assets in the country. This tax law has reportedly forced a number of cryptocurrency startups and entrepreneurs to seek more favorable jurisdictions outside of India.
While politicians around the world continue to make claims about the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit activities, a Chainalysis report found that the use of cryptocurrencies for illegal activities has been in a steady decline, since it is much more complex to launder or transfer illegal funds and easier to trace said funds compared to fiat.
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