Japan will urge the G20 to take measures to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies for money laundering

The group of the 20 leading economies in the world will meet in Argentina next week.

The Reuters news agency reported that Japan will urge its G20 counterparts (group of the 20 most industrialized countries) to reinforce efforts to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for money laundering. The information was given by a government official with direct knowledge of the subject. The exhortation will be made next week at the G20 meeting, which will take place in Buenos Aires from March 19 to 20. As reported, the area of ​​cryptocurrencies is included in the schedule.

However, expectations that G20 financial leaders will agree on specific global rules on the subject and include them in a joint statement are low, given the differences in approach of each country, said the official consulted by Reuters, a shared opinion by another official involved in the G20 talks.

"Discussions will focus on steps against money laundering and consumer protection, rather than how the cryptocurrency trade could affect the banking system," said one of the officials, adding:

The general feeling among the G20 members is that applying too strict regulations will not be good. "

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a group of 37 nations created by the G7 (group of the 7 largest countries worldwide) to combat illicit financing, will inform the G20 of its findings on how to prevent cryptocurrencies are used to launder money.

Japanese politicians fear that while there is a broad consensus among G20 nations on the need for such measures, some nations have more flexible regulations than others, leaving gaps for money laundering, the official said.

Japan was the first country to adopt a national system to monitor the cryptocurrency trade, although this year it carried out checks on several exchanges after the theft of USD $ 530 million from the Coincheck Inc. exchange.

France and Germany have said they will make joint proposals to regulate the Bitcoin market. A head of the European Union watchdog said a short-term strategy could be to apply rules against money laundering and terrorist financing, warning consumers of the risk of operating in cryptocurrencies and preventing banks from doing so. hold back

The ideal would be to apply regulations to protect consumers and prevent illicit activity, without stifling innovation in the fast-growing sectors of cryptocurrencies and fintech, Japanese officials consulted by Reuters said.

It is important to note that Reuters used only anonymous sources, which leaves more expectations on whether that will really be Japan's position next week.