G20 finance ministers and central bank governors adopt crypto road map

Crypto Asset Reporting Framework exchanges to start from 2027

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) have adopted the road map on crypto assets which was proposed in the synthesis paper by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Financial Stability Board (FSB), calling for its swift and coordinated implementation.

The joint communiqué, issued after the final meeting of the FMCBG under India’s presidency at Marrakech, urged countries to implement policy frameworks.

It advocated an outreach beyond G20 jurisdictions; global coordination, cooperation and information sharing; and addressing data gaps. “We ask the IMF and FSB to provide regular and structured updates on the progress of implementation of the G20 Roadmap on Crypto Assets. We support the ongoing work and global implementation of FATF (Financial Action Task Force) standards on crypto-assets,” the communique said.

The G20 finance ministers said a detailed and action-oriented road map was key to achieve the common goals of “macro-economic and financial stability and to ensure effective, flexible, and coordinated impl­ementation of the comprehensive policy framework for crypto assets”.

Briefing reporters in Marrakech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the road map on crypto assets was the big step forward that came from the FMCBG discussion. “The G20 has asked the global forum (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Develo­pment) to identify an appropriate and coordinated timeline to commence exchanges by relevant jurisdictions under the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Con­s­idering the aspirations of the significant number of jurisdictions, it has been decided that the CARF exchanges will start by 2027 by these jurisdictions. To establish this process, the CARF group was formed in September,” she said. 

Sitharaman said under the Brazilian G20 presidency, discussions on crypto currencies would come up in three areas -- monitoring progress; cross-border activities and information sharing; and looking beyond G20 jurisdictions and FSB membership.

“Specific legislative arrangements of the countries concerned will have to be worked out --- (there will be arrangements) across countries, between countries in a macro sense, and in individual countries and the measures that they would want to take,” she added.

The IMF-FSB synthesis paper had said crypto assets should not be granted official recognition or legal tender status while arguing against a blanket ban on activities linked to crypto assets, holding that such a move could be costly as well as technically demanding to enforce.

Central banks should avoid holding crypto assets in their official reserve because they pose a risk to monetary and global financial stability, according to the synthesis paper.

Stressing the need for an unambiguous tax treatment of crypto assets, it has advised countries to safeguard monetary sovereignty.

The report had said policymakers should guard themselves against excessive capital flow volatility by taking steps such as clarifying the legal status of crypto assets. As for emerging markets and developing economies, the report said they might face amplified macro-financial risks from crypto assets due to a less developed tax framework, a large unbanked population, and larger cross-border transaction costs.