MUMBAI: In the days before the G20 New Delhi Summit India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that discussions were in progress on a global framework to regulate crypto assets, adding that cryptocurrencies could not be regulated efficiently without the cooperation of all countries. 

She said that India's G20 presidency has put on the table key issues related to regulating or understanding that there should be a framework for handling issues related to crypto assets. This was days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the B20 Summit India 2023 had called for a global framework for regulating cryptocurrencies.

In the recent meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of G20 nations, the issue was deliberated focusing on a policy consensus for regulating cryptos with India actively pitching for such rules. 

Discussions on cryptocurrencies were also a key area at the G20 summit as countries from across the globe gathered in New Delhi to discuss the issue. The 'New Delhi Declaration', which was adopted on Saturday states that G20 countries continue to closely monitor the risks of the fast-paced developments in the crypto asset ecosystem. The presidency will support the IMF which is setting the contours of the regulatory framework for crypto assets.

Later during the media briefing on Saturday, Sitharaman also spoke on the policy paper for crypto activities, jointly published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Financial Stability Board (FSB).

According to Sitharaman, FSB has focused more on the crypto regulations, whereas IMF has emphasised the macroeconomic implications of crypto assets. Sitharaman highlighted that the 'IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper' for crypto asset policies will be discussed in Morocco. 

The 45-page long Synthesis Paper also called on the G20 governments to devise coordinated international standards to protect economies from potential risks and sought active implementation of FATF norms to curb money laundering and terror financing through cryptocurrencies.

Sitharaman said that it’s for the membership to take a call as to how it wants to move on it, a framework or a template. "I don’t think we have given it a name as of yet, and also to now discuss whether it’s going to be a regulation only and not a ban," she said. 

So far India has maintained that crypto assets are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage. The government has maintained that any legislation on the subject can be effective only with significant international collaboration on the evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards.