Fiat currencies need work, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official, suggesting that they need new ideas to make them more of an attractive proposition for users in the “digital age”, according to Cointelegraph.
Dong He, IMF’s Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, has published an article suggesting that the way to make fiat currencies “more attractive”, and, thereby, more competitive in the light of potential competition from cryptocurrencies, require three main areas needing improvement.
Dong said that fiat currencies, in the hands of central banks, need to become “more stable units of account” with fresh ideas, referring back to an earlier statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde who claimed that “…the best response by central banks [to crypto] is to continue running effective monetary policy while being open to fresh ideas and new demands, as economies evolve.”
IMF boss Lagarde has developed a positive, if not guarded, approach to cryptocurrency development in past months, according to an earlier report by Bitcoin News. In the last weeks, the French lawyer commented in an official IMF blog post that both “crypto-condemnation” and “crypto-euphoria” should be substituted by taking a clear-minded and rational approach to the regulation of cryptocurrencies. She wrote:
“Just as a few technologies that emerged from the dot-com era have transformed our lives, the crypto-assets that survive could have a significant impact on how we save, invest and pay our bills. That is why policymakers should keep an open mind and work toward an even-handed regulatory framework that minimizes risks while allowing the creative process to bear fruit.”
Dong echoed Lagarde’s view that regulation is necessary but added that it necessitates a way of ensuring that a soft- handed regulation of cryptocurrencies would give them an “unfair competitive advantage” and that this should be avoided. He said, “That means rigorously applying measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, strengthening consumer protection, and effectively taxing crypto transactions.”
The deputy director went on to say that the issuing of a CBDC could reduce transaction costs for individuals and small businesses as well as allow long-distance transactions. This he said would make “central bank money user-friendly in the digital world by issuing digital tokens of their own to supplement physical cash and bank reserves”.
In March, Lagarde said that crypto markets must be regulated by the same laws that apply to traditional markets and that regulations must be developed on a global scale with help from the IMF.
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