BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - A push by Group of 20
(G20) president India to regulate cryptocurrencies gained
support from both the International Monetary Fund and the United
States on Saturday as finance chiefs of the bloc wrap up
two-days of talks.
India has said it wants a collective global effort to deal
with problems posed by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, and the
finance ministry said it had held a seminar for G20 member
states to discuss how to come up with a common framework.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in
Bengaluru, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was
"critical" to put in place a strong regulatory framework but
added that the United States had not suggested any outright
bans.
"We haven't suggested outright banning of crypto activities,
but it is critical to put in place a strong regulatory
framework," Yellen said. "We're working with other governments."
Earlier, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told
reporters after co-chairing a meeting with Indian Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that banning crypto should be an
option.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has for
several years debated drafting a law to regulate or even ban
cryptocurrencies but has not made a final decision. The Reserve
Bank of India has said that cryptocurrencies should be banned as
they are akin to a Ponzi scheme.
On Thursday, the IMF laid out a nine-point action plan for
how countries should treat crypto assets, with point number one
a plea not to give cryptocurrencies legal tender status.
Such efforts have become a priority for authorities, the
fund said, after the collapse of a number of crypto exchanges
and assets over the last couple of years, adding that doing
nothing was now "untenable".
(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Shivangi
Acharya and Dave Lawder; Writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by
Krishna N. Das)
@Sudipto_Reuters;))
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