Financial Stability Board: Crypto Could ‘Challenge Any Framework’

The growth of cryptocurrencies as an asset class “may challenge any framework” for financial stability, according to remarks from the chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Feb. 10.

Speaking at a Bank of International Settlements’ (BIS) special governors meeting in Hong Kong, FSB chair, Randal K. Quarles, stated that the FSB “decided to undertake a review of its framework for assessing vulnerabilities to ensure that we are at the cutting edge of financial stability vulnerability assessment.”

According to the institution, this task of developing a framework to deal with evolving financial systems will not be easy, given that:

“developments like the emergence of crypto-assets may challenge any framework[.]”

The agency concluded that this challenge “makes the goal of a robust framework all the more important.”

The FSB is an international body comprised of financial institutions, such as central banks and regulators, that issues regulation recommendations.

This report is seemingly in contrast with a statement that the FSB released in October last year. In the previous document, the agency stated that cryptocurrencies pose no significant risk to global financial stability.

As Cointelegraph reported in July 2018, the FSB has also presented a report to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on the agency’s work monitoring crypto-asset markets in collaboration with BIS’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures.