Beyond Bitcoin: IMF champions central bank digital currencies

[Alfonso Maruccia]

The big picture: Not long ago, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were supposed to be the future of money and blockchain technology was poised to revolutionize everything. But now, nobody seems to remember the blockchain revolution anymore – a solution still in search of a problem – and Bitcoin remains a niche market for financial speculators.

Despite setbacks, digital money isn't going away. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the major financial agency of the United Nations which essentially acts as the world's lender of last resort, is working to turn Bitcoin alternatives into a proper financial and monetary tool.

While today's cryptocurrencies are based on distributed ledger platforms such as the notorious blockchain, the digital currencies the IMF is thinking about are classified as central bank digital currencies (CBDC). A CBDC is a "digital coin" issued by a central bank and backed by real assets, so they should just work as electronic alternatives to the dollar, euro and other major coins when it comes to financial investments.

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, recently talked about CBDCs during a conference attended by African central banks in Rabat, Morocco. Georgieva said that CBDCs "should not be fragmented national propositions," as interoperability is a prerequisite for these new digital coins to provide more efficient and "fairer" transaction fees.

The IMF director said that the UN agency is currently working on a global CBDC platform, a new financial institution that should theoretically provide a common regulatory framework for digital money to guarantee that all these new coins will be able to work and interact together. A common platform is paramount, Georgieva said, as failing to agree on an interoperable tool would create a "vacuum" filled by financially risky cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Being backed by a central bank, a CBDC likely won't have any need for a blockchain-like technology. Analysts are estimating that 114 nations, or more than 95% of the global GDP, are considering some form of CBDC, with 60 nations already working with digital money in research, pilot or even launch phases.

Georgieva said that CBDCs could help to increase inclusion by "giving more people access to financial services," lowering costs and strengthening the resilience and efficiency of payment systems. Cross-border payments and remittances would become "cheaper and quicker," the IMF head stated, but only if CBDCs are properly designed to avoid financial stability risks, privacy issues and legal challenges.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/99214-international-monetary-fund-promotes-digital-currencies-issued-central.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

They leave out the REAL reason governments all want CBDC. Control. It's all about control. A money that you can program is one you can control. It should be obvious, to anyone who pays attention, that digital currency has an abysmal track record for privacy, that the crypto space has long demonstrated how concentrated the digital world becomes, and how easily people who rely on digital money can have everything taken away by a bad password, a bad actor, or because they say something the powers disagree with.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

For anyone who doesn't agree with me, id suggest watching "line goes up, the problem with NFT" by folding ideas on YouTube. He delves deep into not just NFTs, but the social and monetary ramifications of digital currency in general.

 

[Aranarth]

They leave out the REAL reason governments all want CBDC. Control. It's all about control. A money that you can program is one you can control. It should be obvious, to anyone who pays attention, that digital currency has an abysmal track record for privacy, that the crypto space has long demonstrated how concentrated the digital world becomes, and how easily people who rely on digital money can have everything taken away by a bad password, a bad actor, or because they say something the powers disagree with.

It has ALWAYS been about control.
The problem with freedom? Less control.
Why do they always talk about guns in a negative light and almost never talk about the armed home owner who stopped a robbery, the woman who could defend herself until the cops got there etc?
Control. You can't completely control a population that is armed.

 

[Tantor]

Adam Smith said it the best...

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." ~ Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

 

[Tantor]

It has ALWAYS been about control.
The problem with freedom? Less control.
Why do they always talk about guns in a negative light and almost never talk about the armed home owner who stopped a robbery, the woman who could defend herself until the cops got there etc?
Control. You can't completely control a population that is armed.

True. But don't forget that Freedom of Speech is even more important.

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas." ~ Stalin

and

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything." ~ Stalin

 

[emmzo]

"Now, nobody seems to remember the blockchain revolution (a solution still in search of a problem) anymore and Bitcoin remains a niche market for financial speculators." Thank you, sir, you summed it up exactly! At this time, I would be surprised if most people don`t associate crypto with gambling, especially now, that it`s clear a few won and most of them lost, while the House aka Binance, Coinbase, etc, raked in probably 80% of all money. But where there`s money, there`s banks and without banks support, contrary to most crypto proponents, this gold rush wound`t have worked. And now that they were so successful in their enterprise it`s time to coerce financial and state actors to enable this lunacy on a global level. Thus, we will be hearing a lot about "green", "inclusion" and such.

 

[Kashim]

True. But don't forget that Freedom of Speech is even more important.

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas." ~ Stalin

and

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything." ~ Stalin

Those are clever quotes. Then again, there are lots of clever quotes out there. What is the point you were trying to make though? Should we abolish all government and all government control? Society should descend into anarchy because it's the only way to be truly free? People always complain about government control this and government control that, but they're also usually the first ones to complain when things go wrong, bridges collapse, there's a flood, roads are bad, schools are bad, etc. They don't want to pay taxes or have the government control anything, but expect everything to be magically safe and in perfect order at all times.

 

[Kashim]

They leave out the REAL reason governments all want CBDC. Control. It's all about control. A money that you can program is one you can control. It should be obvious, to anyone who pays attention, that digital currency has an abysmal track record for privacy, that the crypto space has long demonstrated how concentrated the digital world becomes, and how easily people who rely on digital money can have everything taken away by a bad password, a bad actor, or because they say something the powers disagree with.

Yes, everyone's always out to get you, especially the government! Be right back, my tinfoil hat fell off, must get a new one.

 

[Hotlynx16]

They leave out the REAL reason governments all want CBDC. Control. It's all about control. A money that you can program is one you can control. It should be obvious, to anyone who pays attention, that digital currency has an abysmal track record for privacy, that the crypto space has long demonstrated how concentrated the digital world becomes, and how easily people who rely on digital money can have everything taken away by a bad password, a bad actor, or because they say something the powers disagree with.

Yes,true true, they want to control what you even spend it on if you don't have the right "ESG"