IMF: Digital currencies might be next evolution of money

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released a video titled “What are Cryptocurrencies.” 

https://twitter.com/IMFNews/status/1297640002604527621

Accompanying the video, the IMF published a blog post that explores what digital currency is and the potential benefits it could provide.

The benefits

In their video and blog, the IMF mentions that digital currencies can provide many benefits to the current banking and finance system as well as any record-keeping industry.

When it comes to banking and finance, the IMF notes that digital currency transactions remove the trusted central agent (trusted third party), which therefore reduces the cost of a transaction, the need to trust the central agent to protect our data and personal identification information, and reduces transaction settlement time. Beyond banking and finance, digital currencies are one of the best record-keeping solutions; transactions stored on the ledger are nearly impossible to alter, which makes a blockchain a good fit for any industry that needs a permanent, tamper-proof record.

The IMF ends their video by acknowledging that digital currencies might be the next evolution of money.

Legitimizing the industry

The IMF is a 74-year-old international organization that works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

Although blockchain and digital currency have been around for over a decade now, and on the radar of several government agencies around the world, it never hurts to get endorsed by a prestigious institution like the IMF. The IMF’s video and blog post help the blockchain and digital currency industry when it comes to legitimizing the space, or as some say, making the industry more mature. When a government agency like the IMF acknowledges an innovation and its potential benefits, more individuals around the world, especially legacy institutions, take the technology seriously and further research and develop its uses.