G-7 Finance Ministers Discuss Crypto Regulation Ahead of Japan Summit Next Week

The Group of Seven (G-7) intergovernmental political forum has signaled its commitment to implementing the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) forthcoming norms for regulating crypto assets and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recommendations on central bank digital currencies.

The group's finance ministers and central bank governors announced they had discussed crypto asset supervision at a Saturday meeting in Niigata, Japan ahead of the G-7 summit next week. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the summit's host this year, has said G-7 leaders are set to state their joint support for tougher crypto rules.

India, as the president of the G-20, has been pushing for globally coordinated crypto rules. In February, the group said forthcoming global crypto norms will be based on a new synthesis paper jointly produced by the IMF and the FSB. The G-7 has indicated it will follow the standards set by the FSB.

"We look forward to the FSB’s finalization of its high-level recommendations by July 2023," the announcement said. "We commit to implementing effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks for crypto-asset activities and markets as well as stablecoin arrangements, which are consistent with the FSB’s recommendations and standards and guidance established by SSBs (Standard setting-bodies)."

The G-7 also supports the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) efforts to accelerate the global implementation of its travel rule, which mandates the sharing of information on fund transfers between financial institutions, the finance ministers said. The global money-laundering watchdog is due to publish a progress report on travel rule implementation – something the G-7 is looking forward to "in light of the growing threats from illicit activities."

The G-7, which has previously said it will help developing nations issue CBDCs, will look to the IMF's recommendations on CBDCs, set to be published later this year.

The U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan make up the G-7, with representatives from the European Union, Australia, India and several other jurisdictions invited this year.

Read More: G-7 Will Push for Tighter Global Crypto Regulations: Kyodo