{ "title": "Remarks by Bo Li, IMF Deputy Managing Director At the seminar “Central Bank Digital Currency and Crypto Assets” in celebration of the 20-year Anniversary of the African Regional Technical Assistance Centre (AFRITAC) East", "publication": "IMF News, April 5, 2022", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/index.md", "summary": "Occasion: 20th anniversary of AFRITAC East; conference organized jointly by the IMF and the Bank of Tanzania.", "publishDate": "2022-04-05", "sections": [ { "heading": "AFRITAC East: role, achievements, and priorities", "content": "- Occasion: 20th anniversary of AFRITAC East; conference organized jointly by the IMF and the Bank of Tanzania.\n- Key accomplishments and features:\n - First of six IMF regional capacity development centers in Africa.\n - Provides prompt, tailored, and sustained hands-on support through its location in the region.\n - Promotes mutual learning, regional harmonization, and integration via workshops and peer-to-peer visit programs.\n - Operates an inclusive governance structure that makes member countries a key part of the venture.\n - Coordinates closely with development partners to minimize duplicative capacity development efforts.\n- Recent adaptation and evolving priorities:\n - Demonstrated quick adaptation to countries’ evolving needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n - Collaborating with IMF headquarters to step up support on emerging issues, including:\n - building resilience to climate change;\n - promoting inclusive growth;\n - leveraging fintech and digital transformation.\n- Forward-looking emphasis: center must remain agile and continue assisting members with realities they face." }, { "heading": "Crypto assets: scope, recent growth, and risks", "content": "- Definition:\n - Crypto assets are privately issued digital tokens that use cryptographic techniques. Example cited: Bitcoin.\n- Market size and regional activity:\n - Market capitalization reached US$2.3 trillion by end-2021.\n - Noted substantial action in the region in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Tanzania.\n- Risks highlighted:\n - Correlation with other financial instruments could lead to amplification of shocks.\n - Potential to replace local currency as medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account — described as “cryptoization.”\n - Misuse risks: money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illegal activities.\n- Regulatory landscape:\n - Countries have adopted varying approaches: completely hands-off, licensing regimes of various restrictiveness, and outright bans.\n - Active global debate on appropriate regulatory and supervisory options.\n - IMF position: strong call for a comprehensive, consistent, and coordinated global regulatory framework for crypto assets." }, { "heading": "Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): characteristics, design considerations, and findings", "content": "- Fundamental distinction:\n - CBDCs are issued by central banks and recorded as a liability of the central bank (unlike crypto assets).\n- Potential benefits:\n - Could improve the efficiency and safety of payment systems.\n - If designed prudently, could reduce incentives for adopting crypto assets and support public policy objectives such as efficiency and stability of payment systems in the digital age.\n- IMF stocktaking of six countries with advanced CBDC pilots — three broad themes emerged:\n 1. Objectives and needs vary across jurisdictions\n - Examples of differing objectives:\n - Financial inclusion (e.g., island nations where cash delivery is costly and difficult).\n - Enhancing resilience as a backup if private sector solutions fail.\n - Promoting market competition where private sector service providers are dominant.\n - Implication: central banks should tailor CBDC design to specific objectives and country circumstances; no “one size fits all” approach.\n 2. Financial stability and privacy considerations are paramount\n - Financial stability measures observed:\n - CBDCs in the studied countries are not interest-bearing.\n - Limits on holdings across active CBDC projects to prevent sudden outflows of bank deposits into CBDC.\n - Privacy trade-offs:\n - Cash offers relative privacy; CBDCs need some privacy to be attractive, but excessive privacy can facilitate illicit financial flows.\n - Proposed balance: a “tiered wallet” CBDC design offering greater anonymity at lower levels of CBDC holdings.\n - Tiered design benefits: may promote financial inclusion by allowing simpler customer onboarding and documentation at lower thresholds.\n - Policy imperative: policymakers must balance protecting privacy, promoting financial inclusion, and ensuring financial integrity.\n 3. Complexity and resource requirements\n - Introducing a CBDC is a complex process requiring appropriate resources and capacity.\n - Areas for further efforts include:\n - new legal frameworks;\n - new regulation;\n - public-private partnerships to ensure successful adoption or to build additional features." }, { "heading": "International coordination, IMF role, and closing remarks", "content": "- Conference objective: share country experiences and understanding about effective regulation of crypto assets and CBDC design, and identify pitfalls to avoid.\n- International coordination: described as vital in these rapidly evolving areas.\n- IMF engagement:\n - Playing a part in international efforts to develop appropriate policies, regulations, and standards.\n - Gearing up to provide capacity development support to members.\n- Closing: Speaker expressed best wishes for a successful conference and looked forward to the next twenty years of AFRITAC East’s journey.\n\nRemarks by Bo Li, IMF Deputy Managing Director; As prepared for delivery, April 5, 2022\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Bo Li\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: April 5, 2022", "Occasion: 20th anniversary of AFRITAC East; conference organized jointly by the IMF and the Bank of Tanzania.", "Key accomplishments and features:", "Recent adaptation and evolving priorities:", "Forward-looking emphasis: center must remain agile and continue assisting members with realities they face.", "Definition:", "Market size and regional activity:", "Risks highlighted:", "Regulatory landscape:", "Fundamental distinction:", "Potential benefits:", "IMF stocktaking of six countries with advanced CBDC pilots — three broad themes emerged:", "Conference objective: share country experiences and understanding about effective regulation of crypto assets and CBDC design, and identify pitfalls to avoid.", "International coordination: described as vital in these rapidly evolving areas.", "IMF engagement:", "Closing: Speaker expressed best wishes for a successful conference and looked forward to the next twenty years of AFRITAC East’s journey.", "[Bo Li](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/bo-li)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2022/04/05/sp040522-central-bank-digital-currency-and-crypto-assets/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-26T01:06:51.896Z" }