The G20 — an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union — has planned to develop a common framework for helping all countries deal with risks associated with cryptocurrency investments.
Under India’s presidency, G20 called for coordinated global crypto policies — a vision put forth by the country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. However, with multiple ecosystem collapses impacting investors across the world, Sitharaman believed disparate reforms will not help address the global reach of cryptocurrencies.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrives for a business roundtable meeting organized by US India Business Council, in Washington. Source: Press Trust of India
Speaking at Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC, she highlighted the numerous crypto collapses while revealing the need for a coordinated effort from all jurisdictions:
“Cryptocurrencies are a very important part of the discussion under the #G20India presidency, given so many collapses and shocks in cryptocurrencies. We seek to develop a common framework for all countries to deal with this matter.”
Moreover, Sitharaman also disclosed G20’s aim to bring together global economies to fight against debt destress and hyperinflation in smaller economies such as Sri Lanka and Ghana. In this regard, she said:
“In G20, there is an opportunity for India to bring all countries together to address debt distress in middle-income and low-income countries. Multilateral institutions are coming up with resolutions for debt-laden countries in 3 to 5 years’ time.”
India’s G20 presidency will end on November 30, 2023, leaving behind roughly 7 months for the group of 20 nations to carve out blanket crypto reforms that could be implemented across jurisdictions.
On the other hand, previously struggling economy El Salvador showcased the importance of an asset like Bitcoin (BTC) in reducing the impact of hyperinflation and dependence on the US dollar.
Related: Crypto regulation is 1 of 8 planned priorities under India’s G20 presidency — Finance Minister
India’s home-grown payment network, the unified payments interface (UPI), is also on an expansion drive.
UPI goes Global!
Since UPI was introduced as a payment system in India, it has revolutionised the lives of Indians, but in fact, India’s digital payment system is steadily becoming globally attractive & is being adopted by other countries.#indiafirst #IndiaSingaporeRelations pic.twitter.com/55sGh5bzbZ
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) February 21, 2023
Most recently, Singapore’s PayNow rapid payment system integrated UPI to allow swift cross-border payments. At the time of the announcement, it was revealed that the State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank and ICICI Bank will facilitate outgoing remittances while Axis Bank and DBS Bank India will facilitate incoming remittances.
