From Crypto to Central Bank Digital Currency, Podcast Tracks Fintech Boom

IMF Blog, December 21, 2022

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Canonical URL: From Crypto to Central Bank Digital Currency, Podcast Tracks Fintech Boom

Authors: Tobias Adrian, Tara Iyer
Publication date: December 21, 2022
Focus: How regulators, investors and central banks are embracing the promise—and bracing for the peril—of evolving financial technologies.
Contextual note: The rapid evolution of financial technology promises wider access to better services, but raises stakes for regulators and supervisors; most fintech firms are small, can grow quickly, and may raise risks for people, companies and industries—as the recent collapse of a major crypto firm shows.
Series format: five episodes featuring voices from the Monetary and Capital Market department and showcasing IMF research and policy recommendations.

Fintech as the Future of Finance
- Examines the revolution in the global financial system.
- Examples cited: the Bahamas introducing a central bank digital currency, the Sand Dollar; El Salvador and Central African Republic adopting Bitcoin as legal tender.
Central Bank Digital Currencies
- Covers benefits, challenges, and policy considerations around CBDCs.
- Notes: CBDCs have been adopted or explored by more than 100 countries.
- Advantages over cash: promoting financial inclusion by reaching people without bank accounts; lowering transaction costs for cross-border payments.
Fintech and Financial Stability
- Explores how crypto assets and equity markets, which showed little correlation before the pandemic, since began to move much more closely together.
- Key point: Crypto is no longer on the fringe of the financial system; greater interconnectedness with other assets could facilitate transmission of shocks and could be destabilizing for financial markets.
Regulating Fintech
- Establishes that regulation is intended to protect consumers and investors, not to stifle innovation.
- Warning: Without regulation, fintech could fuel risks that could potentially even threaten the stability of the financial system itself.
Fintech in the FSAP
- Describes how fintech features ever more prominently in the Financial Stability Assessment Program, a comprehensive look at potential systemic risks, and offers a behind-the-scenes view of these regular evaluations.

Technology-driven innovation, including blockchain, offers benefits such as increased efficiency, competition, and choice.
Some advances remain untested and could spark new financial stability risks.
The increased correlation between crypto assets and equity markets since the pandemic implies higher potential for shock transmission.
CBDCs can promote financial inclusion and reduce cross-border transaction costs.

Regulators should balance enabling innovation with protecting consumers and investors.
Integrate fintech considerations into systemic risk assessments, including the Financial Stability Assessment Program.
Monitor and address the growing interconnectedness between crypto assets and traditional financial markets to mitigate transmission of shocks.
Consider policy frameworks for CBDCs that leverage advantages over cash while addressing challenges and risks.

The Fund’s podcasts are available on IMF.org and platforms includingApple Podcasts,Spotify,SoundCloudandLibsyn.

From Crypto to Central Bank Digital Currency, Podcast Tracks Fintech Boom — Tobias Adrian, Tara Iyer; December 21, 2022.