Ahead of this year’s Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies summit billed for May 19 to 21, 2023, in Hiroshima, Japan, the country’s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda has disclosed that the G7 will consider how best to help developing countries introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in line with appropriate international standards.
Speaking on Tuesday, at a seminar in Washington DC, United States, Kanda whose country chairs this year’s G7 summit disclosed that the move will be among the key themes of discussions, as part of efforts to address challenges the global community face from fast-moving digital technology.
Kanda who is Japan’s Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs said: “We have to address risks from the development of CBDC by ensuring factors such as appropriate transparency and sound governance.
“As a priority of this year, the G7 will consider how best to help developing countries introduce CBDC consistent with appropriate standards, including the G7 public policy principle for retail CBDC.”
Reuters reports that outside the G7, China has been leading the pack in issuing digital currency, even as G7 central banks have set common standards for issuing CBDCs as some proceed with experiments.
According to the Japanese envoy, the rapid innovation of digital technology provides various benefits but also fresh challenges such as cyber-security, the spread of misinformation, social and political divides, and the risk of destabilizing financial markets.
His words: “The collapse of crypto exchange FTX last year was a serious wake-up call for policymakers to create regulation across borders. For crypto assets, there are a bit of diverging views among countries. But the consensus is definitely that we need more regulation, particularly after the FTX shock.”