G20 CEASEFIRE - NO NEW CRYPTO REGULATIONS

The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which coordinates financial regulation for the G20 (Group of 20 Top Economies), resisted calls from some G20 members to regulate cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The global watchdog that reamed a barrage of banking and market reforms down the throat of the global community after the 2008 financial crisis said it will move more toward reviewing existing rules and away from designing new ones. This gave the cryptocurrency market a much needed breathing room and helped move Bitcoin up by $1000.

The anticipation of what new regulations might come of the G20 meeting this week in Argentina added to a rocky cryptocurrency market selloff over the past few weeks, but the news as reported by Reuters, is that there will be no new regulation recommendations handed down. Some of the nervousness of cryptocurrency market watchers coming up to the G20 was due in part to the fact that Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank Of England and outspoken critic of Bitcoin, heads the Financial Stability Board which coordinates financial regulation for the Group of 20 economies. Carney has been very vocal about his doubts concerning the credibility of cryptocurrency in the past speaking as the head of the Bank of England.

There was not enough of a consensus to create radical new regulation among the 20 countries that make up the G20 the FSB, which issued a letter to the central bankers and finance ministers who will convene in Buenos Aries on the 19th and 20th (Monday and Tuesday) saying, “The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time.”

Interest in cryptocurrencies surged last year as prices rocketed only to tumble in recent months, triggering warnings from regulators. But in a sign of too little consensus for radical action, the FSB said more international coordination was needed to plug data gaps in monitoring the rapidly evolving but still tiny sector worth less than 1 percent of global GDP at its peak.

Carney, who stands down next year when his term as governor of the Bank of England ends, signaled that whoever succeeds him would be overseeing a more open watchdog focused on reviewing rules instead of pushing through new standards.

“As its work to fix the fault lines that caused the financial crisis draws to a close, the FSB is increasingly pivoting away from design of new policy initiatives towards dynamic implementation and rigorous evaluation of the effects of the agreed G20 reforms,” Carney said.

US Presidential EXECUTIVE ORDER
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered American regulators last year to scale back on post-crisis banking and derivatives reforms to encourage more bank lending to the economy. The move led to fears among regulators around the world that the United States, where lawmakers have long been lukewarm toward global regulatory bodies, would turn its back on international cooperation and fragment markets.

Carney said the FSB would be more open, disciplined and efficient, with a quarter of its working groups having already been scrapped. The FSB membership will undertake a thorough review of whether the watchdog is “fit for purpose” for evaluating and amending rules. To underline his message, he set out a list of rules that will be reviewed.

They will assess this year whether financial rules could be changed to make it cheaper to invest in infrastructure, seen as a key sector for boosting long-term, sustainable economic growth. They will also report this year on whether reforms to inject more transparency into derivatives markets have created the right incentives to clear trades. The watchdog will study the impact of existing rules on financing small companies and report back next year on whether changes are needed.

A few other relative posts I've shared here:

Research Predicts $91,000 By March 2020 for Bitcoin
CRYPTO CRASH - WHICH WAY FROM HERE?
Why Stellar Lumens (XLM/STR) is One of My Favorite Crypto Currencies
BECOMING A DISCIPLINED INVESTOR

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