Cryptocurrencies are increasingly accepted in different countries, bringing with them the economy digitalization. They present proposals to prevent money laundering

In a document rest the agreements reached by the countries which form part of the G-20 group, such as Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom, which met recently in a summit held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The final declaration points out that the way forward is global regulation and the creation of new tax policies. The group of industrialized and emerging nations affirms that it will promote a regulation to “address the impacts of the economy digitalization, including the tax system”.

The presidents of these countries, in points 25 and 26 of the final document, highlight that “an open and resilient financial system, based on agreed international standards, is crucial to support sustainable growth”.

The agreement contemplates monitoring the financial system to avoid possible risks and “emerging vulnerabilities”. Regarding taxes, the group will have the task of finding a consensus on the possible impacts of the economy digitalization on the international tax system, with an update in 2019 and a final report for 2020.

The foregoing means that these States are in search of a transformation in their tax policies to involve the cryptoactives in them jointly and on a global scale.

“We will intensify efforts to ensure that the potential benefits of technology in the financial sector can be realized while mitigating risks. We will regulate cryptoactives to combat money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, in accordance with the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) standards and considering other responses as necessary”, the statement said.

The statement shows that countries try to regulate a disruptive technology using molds of the traditional economy and national currencies, which, according to analysts, do not fit with the geometry of distributed accounting technology (DLT).

The second aspect to be highlighted is that, although the legislation on cryptoactives is very different in each country, the generalized attitude of the G-20 is to accept them, but following established guidelines. In countries such as China, Russia, Mexico, Japan, and the United States, for example, the cryptocurrency trade is handled very differently.

But the declaration of the G-20 is in accordance with what was announced by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has said that cryptoactives will, most likely, be regulated on a global scale.

Against smuggling

Regarding money laundering and terrorist financing that is currently observed, the reference to the FATF has to do with the Financial Action Task Force against money laundering, an organization that has been working with the IMF for 20 years to prevent this type of crime.

It is important to remember that in March 2017, experts from the United Kingdom stated that there is no relationship between the world of cryptocurrencies and terrorism. In addition, an ex-analyst from the CIA explained that, in any case, terrorists prefer cash over cryptocurrencies in order to remain anonymous.

While these discussions take place in different summits, blockchain technology is still in development. The crypto market moves billions of dollars around the world and is expected to grow over the years.

By María Rodríguez

 

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