The cryptocurrency market has been moving sideways for a number of weeks now . The next catalyst for a move in either direction for the market may very well be the G20 meeting in Argentina this week
“The G20 was born out of a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in 1999 who saw a need for a more inclusive body with broader representation to have a stronger impact on addressing the world’s financial challenges. The G7 invited leading markets - both developed and emerging - to form a new ministerial-level forum: the G20.
The Group of Twenty (G20) is a leading forum of the world's major economies that seeks to develop global policies to address today’s most pressing challenges. The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Collectively, G20 members represent all inhabited continents, 85 percent of global economic output, two-thirds of the world's population, and 75 percent of international trade.
G20 policy-making is enriched by the participation of key international organizations regularly invited to G20 meetings, guest countries invited at the president's discretion, and engagement groups composed of different sectors civil society.”
As you can see G20 is quite a significant group of countries, in addition to the countries themselves there are also a number of organizations that partner with G20, which include: World Bank, IMF, UN ASEAN and CAF.
While the main priorities of the G20 meeting this year are the future of work, infrastructure for development and sustainable food future, it's no doubt that cryptocurrency will be a topic of discussion for the Finance section of the G20 meeting. From the 17th of March to the 20th of March central bank governors and finance ministers will have a number of meetings discussing global finance.
For governments and central banks, cryptocurrency has remained a somewhat grey area with a lack of clear policy direction. This will be an opportunity to try and develop a global consensus on how cryptocurrency will be treated moving forward. While a number of governments have been reluctant to embrace cryptocurrency, make no mistake they all want a piece of the action just under their terms. The risk for governments is that one or a number of countries may embrace cryptocurrency, therefore becoming the market leaders in blockchain/cryptocurrency. No doubt the world took note of the benefits the United States received from the prominence of Silicon valley and do not want to miss the same opportunity with blockchain/cryptocurrency.
China
In China, there has been a continual crackdown on cryptocurrency from mining to exchanges. However, this is not about cryptocurrency specifically but rather a broader-ranging policy with regards to capital controls, it is not only cryptocurrencey affected by this but all asset classes. China is no doubt a proponent of blockchain, however they will develop their policy best in line with a broader ranging capital policy before voicing further support.
United States
The US has been back and forth with regards to their stance on cryptocurrecncy. A number of government organizations are fighting to have cryptocurrency treated as an asset under their jurisdiction. At the same time the SEC announced last week that cryptocurrency exchanges should be registered with the SEC. It's highly unlikely the US will take an anti-cryptocurrency policy given they are currently the most dominant country in tech.
Japan
Out of all the big players I would argue Japan has been the most crypto-friendly country with regards to their stance on cryptocurrency, even in the midst of several large hackings that have taken place on exchanges based in Japan. 16 Exchanges are in Japan licensed by the government and have even set-up a self-regulatory body to ensure guidelines for their trading.
Despite its' smaller population relative to the other big player countries, South Korea is accounts for a significant amount of cryptocurrency volume. For a lot of cryptocurrencies, South Korea makes up the largest trading volume. It has been difficult to get an accurate reading of just how the government perceives cryptocurrencies as there seems to have been a number of conflicting reports with regards to the banning of cryptocurrency, possibly due to FUD-producing media outlets.
Russia
Much like South Korea, Russia has also been difficult to get an understanding on their official position on cryptocurrency. There has been a number of reports suggesting they are legalizing cryptocurrency while other reports suggest criminalizing the use of Bitcoin.
While we may not get a definitive agreement upon how nations will treat cryptocurrency I think we are likely to see a push for the group of countries to agree up on promoting anti-money laundering laws for cryptocurrency.
What do you think will be the outcome of G20?
