UN Urges Developing Countries to Curb Crypto Expansion

The United Nations trade body has urged authorities in developing countries to help ensure the prevention of widespread crypto use. The motivation? Vast crypto usage could jeopardise a nation’s monetary sovereignty:

‘Curb your Crypto’

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has asked that the governments of developing countries work to prevent widespread crypto adoption. This follows the explosion of crypto use during the Covid-19 pandemic, which also increased the social risks and costs of digital assets in developing nations:

Three related policy briefs were released between June and August detailing the high costs of unregulated crypto, the public payment systems responding to financial stability and security risks, and how crypto can undermine domestic resource mobilisation in developing countries.

While UNCTAD acknowledges that crypto can facilitate remittances, it highlights its role in enabling tax evasion via illicit flows. As a result, UNCTAD has published a set of policy actions and urged authorities to help “curb the expansion of cryptocurrencies in developing countries”.

Global Variations in Crypto Adoption

The adoption rate of crypto across the globe has been varied, to say the least. Some countries have embraced it wholeheartedly while others have slipped behind. Australia is in the latter category. Only 3.4 percent of Australians own crypto, according to new data from UNCTAD, placing the country last in a list of 20. Ukraine and Russia topped the chart with 12.7 percent and 11.9 percent respectively.

However, in 2021 global crypto adoption increased by 880 percent over the previous year. This data derived from a Chainalysis report that named Vietnam as the leader of the crypto adoption ‘race’. It also noted that the keenest adopters tended to be those in developing nations, suggesting higher crypto comprehension in such regions.