World's economic leaders set July deadline for first step toward unified regulation of cryptocurrency
Speaking Tuesday at the
G20 meeting of finance ministers in Buenos Aires, Central Bank chair Frederico Sturzenegger said the member nations present agreed that cryptocurrencies needed to be examined, but more information was needed before any regulations could be proposed.
However, during the press conference, he noted the members had a firm deadline in July for recommendations, saying:
"In July we have to offer very concrete, very specific recommendations on, not 'what do we regulate?' but 'what is the data we need?'"
But not every nation is on board with this plan. On Monday, Brazil Central Bank president Ilan Goldfajn said cryptocurrencies will not be regulated in his country, according to news service El Cronista. The outlet further reported that Brazil would not necessarily be following the regulations outlined by the G20, on cryptocurrencies or other issues.
Cryptocurrency regulation has been one the hot button topics at the G20 Conference, and many people were concerned they would crack down on cryptocurrency and, potentially, even ban Bitcoin and altcoins. Some of the officials attending the summit called for a global set of regulations that every country would be able to enforce, but it is unclear how far discussion on possible regulations has gotten.
Since the conference opened, there have been a wide variety of opinions and theories on regulation as a whole. To some people, it’s irrelevant, as cryptocurrencies can’t be regulated in the first place. With no central authority or company to provide access to this new form of money, there is very little regulators can do by default. Consensus among investors is that going after the service providers in this industry isn’t the right course of action either, as doing so will trouble consumers first and foremost.
During a meeting Sunday afternoon, the G20 issued an official statement indicating that the global watchdog will only review existing rules rather than design new ones. This means we won’t see any new regulations for Bitcoin, altcoins, or other so-called ‘financial threats’ until July, and at that point they will only be reviewing
how to regulate cryptocurrencies. And, if global system of regulation is even possible at all.