Global cooperation needed to counter cyber threats: FM

India can lead in making financial ecosystem inclusive, resilient and sustainable: Sitharaman

- Shayan Ghosh

MUMBAI : Global cooperation is essential to tackle cryptocurrencies and other threats emanating from the cyber space, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, outlining a topic that is set to be a key Indian focus at a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi this weekend.

“As much as you build firewalls, there are more and more newer ways in which attacks are being made. Crypto (is a) threat as well as an opportunity," Sitharaman said at a Global Fintech Fest here.

Cryptocurrencies, she said, are also an example of how, unless global cooperation works out well, the world is not going to be able to have a responsible financial ecosystem that can regulate it.

Crypto has been a thorny issue in India. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das has voiced his concerns on cryptocurrencies multiple times, citing macroeconomic and financial stability risks. In fact, the finance ministry notified in March that exchange, transfer, safekeeping or administration of cryptocurrencies will come under the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).