G-20 members want wider adoption of the Financial Action Task Force's global cryptocurrency standards.

" We urge countries to implement the standards recently adopted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on virtual assets and associated suppliers," said a joint statement issued after the summit held in Riyadh on February 22-23.

G-20 finance ministers and central bankers are particularly interested in the travel rule finalised in the summer of 2019. This controversial rule requires virtual asset service providers, including wallet providers and exchanges, to share user information with each other whenever funds are transferred, reports an article published on Coindesk.

This rule would prevent terrorists and money launderers from using cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions and controls.

The FATF recommendations are not extremely binding and leave some latitude to the authorities to interpret their standards according to local law. However, countries that do not adopt the recommendations or that deviate too much from them are blacklisted, which could exclude them from world trade.

36 FATF member states, including G-20 economies, have already adopted the travel rule.

South Korea and Singapore have passed legislation requiring virtual asset service providers to comply with the new anti-money laundering frameworks. The European Union has adopted a directive that requires exchanges to register with local regulators and prove their compliance, came into force in early 2020.

The statement also asked local authorities to help the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which monitors the vulnerability of the global financial system, develop new recommendations for the global regulation of cryptocurrencies.