On 7 September 2023, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a joint synthesis paper on policies for crypto-assets.

The report synthesises the IMF’s and FSB’s policy recommendations and standards. The report illustrates macroeconomic and financial stability implications of crypto-asset activities, how they may interact, and how the IMF and FSB’s policy recommendations fit together. The report also encourages implementation of the Financial Action Task Force’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards to address risks to financial integrity and mitigate criminal and terrorist misuse of the crypto-assets sector.

The report sets out the following key findings:

  • A comprehensive policy and regulatory response for crypto-assets is necessary to address the risks of crypto-assets to macroeconomic and financial stability.
  • In order to address macroeconomic risks, jurisdictions should safeguard monetary sovereignty and strengthen monetary policy frameworks, guard against excessive capital flow volatility and adopt unambiguous tax treatment of crypto-assets. 
  • Some jurisdictions, in particular emerging markets and developing economies, may want to take additional targeted measures that go beyond the global regulatory baseline to address specific risks.

In addition, the report sets out a roadmap, developed together with relevant international organisations and standard-setting bodies, to ensure the effective implementation of the FSB’s and IMF’s recommendations and standards. 

The roadmap includes currently planned and ongoing work to build institutional capacity beyond G20 jurisdictions; enhance global coordination, cooperation, and information sharing; and address data gaps necessary to understand the rapidly changing crypto-asset ecosystem.