Japan is the latest country to call for a discussion on cryptocurrency at the forthcoming G20 summit. More specifically, Japan is looking to spark a discussion on crypto money laundering. The meeting is to take place next week in Argentina, and over the course of the last month, we have seen a number of countries come forward and state what they think should be discussed at the 2018 summit.
Cryptocurrency Talks at the G20 Summit
The G20 meeting allows for the world’s 20 leading industrialized economies to come togETHer, and until this point, it seemed that most countries were pushing for cryptocurrency regulation to be discussed at the summit. We first heard about the potential for these talks at the start of February, when Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury Secretary, announced that he plans to start a discussion on cryptocurrency regulation at the March meeting. Shortly after, on February 9, both Germany and France announced that they want a cryptocurrency discussion at the 2018 G20 summit. Specifically, Reuters reported that Germany and France want nations to discuss more cryptocurrency regulation as both countries believe the sector “could pose substantial risks for investors.”
On top of the U.S., Germany, and France pushing for crypto regulation to be discussed next week, we now know that Japan wants there to be a lengthy discussion on the negative effects of crypto money laundering at the Buenos Aires-based meeting.
Japan to Discuss Crypto Money Laundering
Most people are aware that cryptocurrencies are susceptible to illegal activity, such as crypto money laundering, therefore it makes considerable sense that Japan has called for this to be discussed. Reuters reported the news on Tuesday, citing a government official close to the matter. According to the official, Japan plans to discuss “anti-money laundering steps and consumer protection.”
As needed as this discussion might be, the chances that the G20 finance leaders will agree on specific rules are quite low, considering each country has a vastly different approach to the cryptocurrency sector. For instance, Japan wants to focus on the ways in which the world could stop crypto money laundering “rather than how cryptocurrency trading could affect the banking system,” but we know that other nations are going to fight hard for the latter to be discussed.
The Takeaway
Regardless, both Japan and the U.S., Germany, and France are pushing for conversations that should and need to be discussed, even if the conversation lasts 5 minutes. There has been quite the lead up to this meeting, so check back in next week and I’ll try my best to fill you in on the 2018 G20 summit details!
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