Cryptocurrencies, G7: rules first, money laundering and terrorism risk

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13 October 2020Stop to the Zuckerberg coin and other 'stablecoins', is what the draft statement of the G7 economy ministers reads, which has been examined by the Reuters agency.

The draft was prepared for the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain.

'Stablecoins' are cryptocurrencies tied to a traditional currency or a basket of assets.

The G7 document states, as a principle, that digital payments can improve access to financial services and reduce inefficiencies and costs.

But such payment services must first be properly controlled and regulated, so as not to compromise financial stability, consumer protection, privacy, taxation and cyber security.

And this is because without regulated supervision, the so-called stablecoins could be used, for example, for money laundering or terrorist financing and compromise the integrity of the market, its governance, ending up undermining legal certainty, the draft continues.

Last April, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) of the G20 issued 10 recommendations for a common international approach to the regulation of stablecoins, prompted by Facebook with the proposal of the stablecoin Libra.

In recent days, the European Commission has also announced new rules, which oblige operators to obtain authorizations from the monetary authorities of a Member State to be able to provide their services throughout the Union, and set a series of "safeguards" such as capital requirements, safekeeping of assets, supervision, complaints procedure for investors and fixing their rights to the issuer.

The requirements will be more stringent for those who issue significant quantities of 'stablecoins', cryptocurrencies that have a stable price because they are linked to a stable medium of exchange and the suppliers of crypto-assets (such as trading platforms, portfolio managers), which will have to have a physical presence in the EU.