Virtual Currencies: The Public Impact of Private Money
IMF Blog, January 20, 2016
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Virtual Currencies: The Public Impact of Private Money
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Authors: iMFdirect
- Published: January 20, 2016
Overview and context
- Publication: iMFdirect
- Date: January 20, 2016
- Languages: (Version in عربي, 中文, and Español)
- Framing: Virtual currencies are part of a broader tech revolution driving fundamental change in the global economy; technology and finance have always gone together.
- Notable mention: Christine Lagarde, the IMF's Managing Director, also spoke about virtual currencies in Davos.
Key statistics
- Virtual currencies so far remain a relatively small part of the financial sector: $ 7 billion compared to the $1.4 trillion in U.S. currency in circulation.
- The IMF is an organization of 191 countries.
Benefits identified
- Potential for increased financial inclusion: "more people may eventually gain access to financial services, many of them traditionally excluded from their country's financial system."
- Distributed ledger technologies underlying virtual currencies have applications beyond money and payments and "hold the promise of big gains in efficiency for many types of financial business."
Risks identified
- Use of virtual currencies for money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, tax evasion, and getting around capital controls.
- Consumer protection concerns: "people not understanding the risks they've taken on."
- Current assessment: "so far the risks to financial stability and monetary policy are minor," with a caveat that this assessment "may change as virtual currency use grows."
Policy direction and recommendations
- Core solution: regulations that limit the risks and encourage innovation.
- Emphasis on international cooperation: "international cooperation (part of the IMF's bread and butter) is key for countries to develop effective regulations."
- Ongoing work: "a lot of work remains to be done to find the right approaches and the right balance."
Additional content highlights in the paper (as described)
- Policy advice for countries.
- A country-by-country guide to virtual currency regulations.
- A primer on how distributed ledgers work.
- A historical look at private money in a number of countries and how it worked out.
Source: iMFdirect, January 20, 2016.
Content in this bundle
- 虚拟货币：私人资金带来的公共影响; iMFdirect 博客; 2016年1月20日