India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take a “leading role” in regulating crypto assets. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the international organization is ready to work with India on climate change, crypto regulation and other global challenges of our time.
India Wants IMF To Lead In Crypto Regulation
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director and Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in New Delhi on Wednesday. The two discussed various topics including India’s upcoming G20 presidency and crypto regulation.
According to India’s finance ministry, Sitharaman and Georgieva discussed the importance of regulating crypto assets and the need for a “globally integrated and synchronized approach to the issue”. In addition, India’s finance minister urged the IMF to “play a leading role in this regard”.
Sitharaman’s statement echoed her call for a global regulatory framework at a meeting with the IMF and World Bank in April. India’s Finance Minister warned that the threat of money laundering and terrorist financing affects all countries, and no country can deal with these threats alone. She emphasized that crypto assets can only be regulated when countries cooperate.
Georgieva tweeted after meeting the finance minister on Wednesday that the IMF was “ready to work” with India’s finance minister on “climate change, crypto regulation and other global challenges of our time”.
After meeting Sitharaman, Georgieva told CNBC TV18 on Friday that the IMF is aligned with India on crypto regulation, stressing the need to balance the pros and cons. The IMF Managing Director explained as follows.
India’s digital ecosystem is on steroids as cryptos emerge strongly without regulation. It’s important to remember that cryptos are like the wild, Wild West.
Georgieva went on to say that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of using India’s experience in digitization and said that a more practical roadmap can be worked out in a clear way. “India would do well to use its leadership to ensure greater transparency and ownership of data,” the IMF chief concluded.
Do you agree with India’s finance minister that the IMF should play a leading role in regulating crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.
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