Need high regulatory standard globally to deal with risks related to cryptocurrencies: Yellen

Nirmala Sitharaman and Janet Yellen lead the 9th meeting of India-US Economic Financial Partnership. (Image: @FinMinIndia/Twitter)

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said there is a need for a high regulatory standard globally to deal with risks related to cryptocurrencies.

The United States has made a good deal of progress at least in dealing with the issues of illicit finance in connection with cryptocurrencies, she said here.

She was participating in a roundtable interaction on India-US Business & Economic Opportunities with top business leaders and eminent economists from both the countries.

''We need a high regulatory standard globally, we need to take steps to reduce the cost of cross-border payments and we are very actively working in the context of financial stability with Financial Action Task Force and multilateral banks like IMF to really address on global basis the risks and some of the benefits from cryptocurrencies,'' she said.

International collaboration is really important among public authorities, private sector and other stakeholders, she added Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has repeatedly stressed on the need for global collaboration to deal with the risks related to cryptocurrencies.

''Any legislation for regulation or for banning can be effective only after significant international collaboration on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards,'' she had said earlier.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been cautioning users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, saying that dealing in such currencies is associated with potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks.