The International Monetary Fund should play a lead role regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies and ensure a globally coordinated and synchronised approach on the issue, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. The finance minister raised the matter during a meeting with the IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva in New Delhi recently. The finance ministry has also tweeted regarding the matter.

“FM Smt. @nsitharaman and Ms. @KGeorgieva discussed the significance of regulation of crypto assets and the need to have a globally coordinated, synchronized approach on the issue. FM Smt. @nsitharaman urged that the IMF should play a lead role in this regard," said the finance ministry in a tweet on Wednesday, after Sithraman met Georgieva on the day.

The IMF managing director met the Indian finance minister on Wednesday to discuss India’s upcoming G20 presidency and IMF’s support to India for the presidency.

Back in April, during the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank , Sitharaman had mooted for a global framework that would regulate cryptocurrencies, while also warning about the potential risks that they pose with regards to terror financing and money laundering.

Regulation using technology is the only answer. It will have to be so adept, that it is not behind the curve, but be sure that it is on the top of it. And that’s not possible if any one country thinks that it can handle it. It has to be across the board,” the FM had said at the time. The IMF had during this time vowed to expand its work on crypto assets as Sitharaman highlighted the need to have a consensus to control these digital assets.

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