IMF head Christine Lagarde has said «they» should think about emitting CBDCs — the digital currency that is distinct from mainstream cryptos. Moreover, she supported the «exploration» of such a digital form of fiat money. This might be a sign that the modern banking system is concerned with the increasing popularity of cyber-coins — bitcoins and its brethren. However, the IMF itself does not think so.
IMF Director Implies Bank Should Go For CBDCs
This week at the financial technology event in Singapore the chair and managing director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde gave a speech, encouraging central banks to take a look at digital currencies. As CoinDesk has stressed, Lagarde pointed this out as the demand for fiat has gone down while the presence of cryptos — up. In particular, she said:
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“I believe we should consider the possibility to issue digital currency. There may be a role for the state to supply money to the digital economy.”
At the same time, Lagarde noted that central banks around the world are looking into the issuance of CBDCs. For instance, central banks of Sweden, China, Uruguay and Canada have already got involved in the process. The IMF chair said both IMF and bank domain in these countries have stepped on a path of novel thinking and reforming.
Lagarde About Cryptos
It is no surprise that in the view of the growing popularity of cryptos IMF has become concerned and informally called for exploration of alternatives. Even Lagarde signed out that such coins like BTC, ETH and XRP are competing for a place in the cash-free system. According to her words, these currencies continually change, hoping to become less volatile, speedier and cheaper.
Nevertheless, the IMF does not consider cryptos as an alternative to CBDC and refer to it as the least attractive option among all forms of money. In a recent report, the organization highlighted that cryptos are not that fast due to technical restrictions.
At the same time, Lagarde said digital currencies emitted by banks would be a «great promise.»
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