UNCTAD takes aim at crypto in developing world in a series of critical policy briefs

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a policy brief Wednesday on cryptocurrency. It is the third brief in a row the agency has dedicated to crypto, and together they represent a detailed assessment of the risks crypto presents for developing economies and options for resolving those risks.

UNCTAD Policy Brief No. 102, dated July but newly released, argues that although cryptocurrency can facilitate remittances and encourage financial inclusion, it can also undermine domestic resource mobilization in developing economies by enabling tax evasion by hiding the ownership of financial flows and directing them out of the country. The authors of the brief state, “Cryptocurrencies share all the characteristics of traditional tax havens – the pseudonymity of accounts, and insufficient fiscal oversight or weak enforcement.”

Most developing countries do not have tax regulations covering cryptocurrencies, and the lack of a third-party reporting system makes it easy to hide crypto holdings, the brief noted.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/unctad-takes-aim-at-crypto-in-developing-world-in-a-series-of-critical-policy-briefs